batch stori of 2002 astig
by paroparomin
Summary: this is a work of art. it is technically fanfiction because several elements are borrowed from the things we love... yes, its a collaboration.


batch 2002 story  
  
it was late that night in PSHS...your typical, rainy, traffic-jam @ Agham  
  
Road type of late night. some [like Team Sr02] braved the rain to get to SM  
  
or home. While others were trapped...waiting for the rains to cease, their  
  
relatives to get them from work, or for some kind of miracle.  
  
And for one unfortunae PAROMIN, he was at the latter....tsk.  
  
he sat awhile, looking out at the western wall facing the 'Tapat'. He was  
  
getting fed up, quite uncharacteristic of the gentile soul loved by Charm  
  
02...  
  
then it happened...something quickly swooshed by behind him...faster than  
  
his eyes could follow... and while better judgement would've ignored it, the  
  
sounds kept coming...another swoosh, slicing the air...  
  
restively, Paromin walked and checked it out...unaware of what was out there  
  
in the shadows of school at 8 PM, that cold, rainy night...  
  
Nobody knows how it happened, or when it happened, but the important thing  
  
was, it was true. Anyone who ventured onto the Biology Equipment room while  
  
the technician, Sir Vasquez was there, with Sir Samson from Research, could  
  
swear they were just chatting.  
  
Mysterious, how could they not see the years-long enmity between the two  
  
concerning... glasswares .  
  
Sure, some unfortunate student would think that the 1000-mL beaker he  
  
borrowed was just lost during the course of the year. But hello? A 1000-mL  
  
beaker?  
  
What they didn't know was the awful truth behind the disappearances...and  
  
who was responsible.  
  
Only Jun Samson knew. And even HE was afraid to let the truth out.  
  
Lights out, freaking silence, but he wasn't scared. Not scared of the dark,  
  
or even of the frogs in jars, waiting to be dissected the next day. He  
  
thought of the various "Pisay Tales from the Crypt"--the headless night  
  
wanderers in the field, the boy crouching on the diving board, the ghost of  
  
the Boys Annex, the bottled baby, which was actually a few meters from him.  
  
***  
  
Paromin walked silently, ready for anything that might surprise him. But he  
  
wasn't ready for this...  
  
***  
  
Amidst the shadows, a figure was approaching, even darker than the blackness  
  
of the corridor. Thinking that it was a trick of light, he continued. Then  
  
he stopped in mid-track. His heart pounding, he realized... Trick of light?  
  
Not even a single light is on!!!  
  
That was when Paromin turned around...  
  
***  
  
"Hiii!" greeted the figure in an ever so familiar freaking gay voice.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Paromin. "Get away from me!"  
  
But the figure just waved his hand in the air, as it continued to approach  
  
him.  
  
"No! Don't touch me! I'm warning you...HELP!!" cried Paromin in desperation.  
  
Paro fled, terror gripping his heart. he had no idea where to run. the  
  
lights of the front lobby seemed ever so faint...as though an abhorrent,  
  
otherworldly, alien presence was draining them of power. but then  
  
again...when you're in the Humanities Building after lights-out time...no  
  
one but God, you and what force may be know you're still breathing.  
  
he reached the glass doors, heaved with his weight...and it didn't budge.  
  
Curse the janitors who locked him in! Then it settled in his soul... it was  
  
all a trap! paro could only cry "eahhhhhhhh!" in panic, a cornered animal  
  
with no escape, at the abominable creature's mercy...  
  
"hiii..." he heard the voice cry... somewhere in the darkness it was lurking  
  
there. Paro cringed. behind him, the doors to the front and his escape  
  
sealed off... and right there in his face... Lord knows what the hell it  
  
was...  
  
He was paralyzed. Frozen. All he could do was wait for it to come. And what  
  
will come with it.  
  
He turned around.  
  
"hiii..." it said.  
  
"NOOOOO!!! GET AWAY!!! I'M WARNING YOU!!! STAY AWAY!!"  
  
(Uh ... cut ... is this all english? :scratch head: I hope not)  
  
" O ba't ka naman ganyan? " the figure behind him said.  
  
"PLEASE!!!" he held his arms in front of his face in defense. "STAY AWAY!!!"  
  
" eh bakit? gusto ko lang sabihin na may naiwan ka daw sa room ni Sir  
  
Vasquez. "  
  
Paro braced himself for anything else. But nothing came. He peeked through  
  
his arms as the sinister - no longer sinister - figure began to walk away.  
  
His arms were numb and his throat was still dry but he calmed himself down.  
  
He couldn't believe how close he was to being ... infected with the ... GAY  
  
virus!  
  
But what had he left in the so called 'Vasquez room'? He couldn't recall  
  
having been in there lately. He wondered if it was a good idea to check on  
  
this room.  
  
When his breathing finally slowed he realized he had no other choice. He  
  
decided to go ahead and take the advice. He started to walk back toward the  
  
back lobby of the building. To go to Sir Vasquez's room and find out what he  
  
had been missing.  
  
Should he really?  
  
But then, anything was better than being :gulp: trapped all alone in the  
  
Humanities building with ... :shudder: JOVEN! Though going to that room  
  
didn't cancel that, at least he had a chance of safe haven if he remained in  
  
there.  
  
Or so he thought ... Because as he closed in on that room ...  
  
That's when he heard the crunching.  
  
paro walked briskly, hearing the crunch echo all over the southern hall. the  
  
door was closed, but a glimmering light peeked out of the door's cracks. it  
  
was the first sign of real comfort for him, from the darkness, and from  
  
the...ahem...previous mishap.  
  
the doorknob was warm. someone was inside. a twist and it gave itself  
  
easily. the room still had that unmistakeable scent of ancient age, and it  
  
took effort not to sneeze. the white flourescent bulb was a he took another  
  
step inside...  
  
CRUNCH.  
  
he jumped. something gave beneath his feet. glass...lots of it. small, large  
  
pieces...and of course, as he moved, it kept going CRUNCH.  
  
"Ano yun?" asked an elderly, kind voice.  
  
"Ah, ser Vasquez?" parro asked sheepishly, albeit thinking about what his  
  
feet had gotten him into.  
  
Sir Vasquez was thinking the same thing.  
  
"Eto kasi clearance mo..." Sir Vasquez's gaze looked at the floor...at  
  
parro's feet. "uh...anong nangyari diyan?"  
  
poor parro. he just couldn't lie. "na...naapakan ko po ata..." he replied.  
  
"Ay naku...paano na yon. padampot nga."  
  
true enough, parro picked up a rather large shard of what was left. It's  
  
distinctive white marks read plain and simple: "PYREX" and "1000 m..." soon  
  
it was settled: parro wouldn't be cleared until he could replace it. Now if  
  
it were the chem unit, it wouldn't really matter if it were pyrex, but  
  
sadly, parro broke it RIGHT IN THE HEART OF BIO UNIT TERRITORY, ergo...  
  
but as parro left, went home, and made plans to buy the next day, he had a  
  
lot of questions...what EXACTLY was Joven doing so late? what was the swoosh  
  
sound he heard earlier. And worst of all... the thing he noticed about that  
  
glass piece, he picked...  
  
Teethmarks.  
  
******  
  
"These are the directions." The boy frowned from the piece of paper in his  
  
hand. He stood infront of the glasswares shop in the UP campus belt. Looking  
  
once again at the hastily scrawled words "This better be the right place" he  
  
shrugged and reached for the doorknob. It was locked tight "Darn just my  
  
luck... I'll never get cleared ever" Paromin sighed and sat on the steps  
  
thinking on how he should replace the PYREX beaker he broke in the Biology  
  
Equipment room, thought about the weird events of last night. The crunching  
  
sounds, the teethmarks on the beaker, and the fact that Joven was there. As  
  
much as being stuck late night with the last item on the list was  
  
terrifying, the fact that someone might have been eating glasswares late in  
  
night sent his curiosity aflare. This wasn't unlike those weird  
  
circumstances in the pc games he played or the books he read... It was  
  
almost too similar...  
  
Inside the store Paromin sat unsuspectingly about occupied with his  
  
thoughts, a shadowed figure lurked about searching. A slight crunch heard  
  
from time to time, the figure leaped about silently and the crunches maked  
  
by the normal traffic on the campus belt. It had feasted well last night,  
  
yet it saw a boy while enjoying its late night buffet. The very same boy  
  
outside the shop where the intruder was having its fill. The figure sat on  
  
the prone body of the shopkeeper munching on a rather tasty flask. Its head  
  
filled with images of crunchy glasswares and thoughts of the boy last  
  
night... and what to do with him. It crunched once more on the flask and  
  
joined again the dark embrace of the shadows.  
  
Paromin's thoughts were interuppted by a clash of thunder. Raindrops started  
  
to pelt him from the heavens, slowly drenching him in hateful rain. "Not  
  
again..." He sighed and looked up at the darkening sky "The last time this  
  
happened..." He trailed off muttering to no one. Annoyed he hit the locked  
  
door rather strongly with his fist, making it creak a menacing tone as it  
  
slowly opened. He took a few steps away from the door "It wasn't THAT hard"  
  
however suprise did not last long as the unending assault of droplets pelted  
  
him and thunder roared for attention. He shook his head "It must have been  
  
jammed. Well can't waste a good oppurtunity to get under something" He  
  
opened the door fully "Anyone home?" Shrugging, he went inside...  
  
***  
  
In the shadows, it continued to wait, wondering what it should do to the boy  
  
that had now entered the store.  
  
:crunch::crunch::crunch:  
  
It will wait. What to do? What to do ...  
  
***  
  
"Is anybody here?"  
  
He frowned, realizing there must be noone in. But as he had reasoned to  
  
himself ... why waste a good oppurtunity to get under something?  
  
Since, as he had assumed, noone was around. He sorted over the jumbled  
  
thoughts in his head. He even briefly wondered what had happened to his  
  
disappearing skills. Why was he not able to go and disappear in the same way  
  
that he usually lost his Charm friends at SM-...  
  
Enough about that ...  
  
Teethmarks + crunching + glassware definitely somehow equalled a  
  
glassware-eating freak.  
  
But how did Sir Vasquez and Joven fit into all this?  
  
And what WAS that swooshing sound he had heard? Does IT have a connection in  
  
all of this.  
  
"I should call in the rest of Charm02 ... or better yet the whole batch," he  
  
muttered to himself.  
  
What if ... Joven had something to do with it? He shuddered at the thought.  
  
And why of all places was the incriminating evidence at the Biology  
  
Equipment room? All those glasswares disappearing from THAT equipment, all  
  
those unfortunates who could not be cleared. Himself included.  
  
The teethmarks ... and the crunching ...  
  
Was it possible that ... Sir Vasquez was the glass-eater?  
  
:CRUNCH::CRUNCH::CRUNCH:  
  
Paro jumped to his feet. It was the crunching again! His eyes darted back  
  
and forth, trying to find the source. Perhaps even solve the 'mystery of the  
  
glass-eater' once and for all.  
  
As he searched throughout the aisles and rooms in the store, he didn't  
  
notice the figure looming up behind him.  
  
"Ah! Nandito ka?" came the kind elderly voice.  
  
Paro yelled and spun around. "Sir Vasquez! Nandito ka rin pala?!"  
  
Sir Vasquez gestured toward the bags he held, "Bumibili ako ng bagong  
  
glasswares. Bakit?"  
  
"T-Talaga po? A-ako rin po. Yung papalit sa 1000 ml na naapakan ko."  
  
"Mabuti yan. Baka ma-clear ka na. Dun ka dapat magbayad sa likod."  
  
And with that, Sir Vasquez left, braving the rain outside.  
  
Paro watched him leave, more insane thought passing through his head.  
  
Sir Vasquez? Eating glasswares??  
  
Perhaps it really was about time he called in reinforcements ...  
  
****  
  
It looked at the rain. It wasn't afraid of the rain.  
  
It decided to leave the boy alone for a while. Perhaps it will be more  
  
interesting to deal with the boy some other time. For now, it only wished to  
  
crunch on the delicious graduated cylinder it had found in the store.  
  
****  
  
"I tell you, i'm telling the truth!"  
  
"pwet! tama na sabi!"  
  
it went like that for some time, parro telling the people what he saw. of  
  
course nobody believed. and of course, the 'not-so-stupid-to-be-reckless  
  
friends of parro (like topher or nestee) listened...and of course didn't  
  
really believe.  
  
parro then thought about it too. hell, it's been weeks, and he's been  
  
avoiding passing by the lab tech office as much as possible, going upstairs  
  
even...and STILL it bothered him.  
  
he calmed a bit after talking to 'more sympathetic' people like Lopao or  
  
Ma'am Celeste. this time, he didn't tell them outright... he said something  
  
like "meron po akong bad feeling about sir vasquez"...and naturally, the  
  
news of sir 'oppressing parro over glassware he didn't break' struck a  
  
chord, so they listened...that is, until the Joven late-at-nite episode.  
  
"Sa alam ko, umuwi siya nung araw na iyon," said Krista, and that usually  
  
silences doubts faster that Silencer017 puts them down with a "yes"  
  
then there was sir vlad...  
  
and he looked like knew something, paro felt, as he walked out of the  
  
faculty lounge...  
  
or did he?  
  
***  
  
Resigned at everyone's simalar reaction of disbelief to his tale, Paro...  
  
Wait a minute... PARRO? anyhow back to the story... Paro decided that if he  
  
was going to convince anyone he'd need some evidence to back it up. And  
  
there was only one place he could think of to get proof, the scene of the  
  
crime.  
  
So day after day, and night after night, Paromin made frequent turns to the  
  
Biology Equipment Room and made some inquiries on Sir Vasquez' whereabouts.  
  
After a week of snooping around all the rocks he turned up for clues came up  
  
empty. People started talking behind his back about the hours he keeps. He  
  
ignored them all, his resolve to figure this out was as holy as his hours  
  
weren't. Still nothing came up other than a few witty remarks from people he  
  
met while stalking around the corridors of the humanities building. He  
  
ignored them all, remembering the cold dread he felt that fateful night kept  
  
him firm in his crusade.  
  
Until one fateful afternoon...  
  
"Damn, walang nagyayari sa ginagawa ko!" Paromin stared hatefully at the  
  
Biology Equipment Room door... the LOCKED Biology Equipment Room door. Which  
  
probably lead to an EMPTY Biology Equipment Room... an EMPTY and UNEVENTFUL  
  
Biology Equipment Room. "I must have just knocked over that silly old pyrex  
  
beaker and went ahead to invent a stupid story for it. 'Paromin... yes'"  
  
recalling one of the comments he heard when telling what SUPPOSED to have  
  
happened that night. Muttering darkly to himself he spun around and started  
  
to leave the area when the room started to sway. He staggered to the wall  
  
looking for support but found nothing, it might as well have been a hundred  
  
miles away. His senses started to slowly fade away, but without leaving him  
  
with one distinct note. He had heard a slight swoosh, like on that night...  
  
yet as if louder... as if it was closer... a lot closer...  
  
***  
  
***  
  
Paromin woke up to crunching sounds. "Not again..." he groaned, but to no  
  
effect. It just got louder and louder as if it came from somewhere near him.  
  
He wanted to yell that it be stopped but for some reason he couldn't.  
  
"Stop... Just make it stop..." that single thought prevailed in his mind.  
  
"Wala ka nang magagawa bata..."  
  
Paromin spun around towards the source of the voice, finding nothing but  
  
darkness he looked around himself, it was all dark. The silence broken only  
  
by an infernal series of cruches. Crunch. Pause. Crunch. Pause. He couldn't  
  
take it anymore, yet he found his screams unable to escape his mouth,  
  
thoughts remained as thoughts.  
  
"Bakit hindi ka na lang humingi ng tulong?" And then came a series of  
  
manical laughs.  
  
Paro silently cursed at the voice. Yet, it sounded familiar. He recognized  
  
that voice from somewhere else. His mind though, still wracked in pain from  
  
the continuous crunching noises, refused to answer him  
  
The voice continued to humor itself at paromin's plight. "Baka gusto mong  
  
takpan yun tenga mo para wala ka nang marinig"  
  
"Like I'd care for you're advice" The thought hovered in Paromin's head,  
  
again not able to voice itself. "Why the hell would I want to follow this  
  
loser? Parang sobrang yes siyang kung..." Yes. The single word stayed in his  
  
mind. "Yes siyang kung... yes..." He mouthed the infernal word, and slowly  
  
he urged his hands to cover his ears. Paromin shook himself, as if waking up  
  
from some horrid nightmare "Why the heck am I suddenly acting like some lap  
  
dog"  
  
A slight laugh pierced the darkness. "Oh you'll find out that obeying me  
  
like some lap dog will be the only thing you would wish for"  
  
Paromin froze "How..."  
  
"'...can it read my mind'" another chuckle "Poor poor paromin don't you  
  
understand, sooner or later you'll be gone like that witless slave you met  
  
on some fateful night some days ago."  
  
"Witless slave?" Paromin's thoughts went immedietely to Sir Vasquez who  
  
seemed to be always where a crunching noise was heard.  
  
"Fu fu fu tawa ito Poor misguided little boy... Should have followed  
  
mommy's orders and went straight home that night."  
  
"Damn you!!!" Paromin clenched his teeth. More of the crunching was heard.  
  
He balled his hands into fists but stopped dead short. He was holding  
  
something . It was cold... perhaps as cold as... A dreadful realization hit  
  
him, Paromin tried to close his eyes to hide himself from the truth.  
  
"Go ahead boy..."  
  
Against his will he looked at the object in his hand... It was a test  
  
tube... a glass test tube. He could see it was partly broken as though it  
  
was chewed...  
  
***  
  
********  
  
if college was supposed to be like this, he wished he could've started a  
  
whole two weeks ago.  
  
He lay on his bed, thinking about that thought. he missed the people back  
  
then, waaAy back home. but of course, Pepper didn't have that luxury  
  
anymore, now thousands of miles away. He wrapped his blanket around himself,  
  
hoping to quell the chill. it was spring, and he'd been there several times  
  
before, but having just come from Manila, and now in minnesota; well, his  
  
body couldn't keep up.  
  
he had just been there ten days, and already he started becoming acquainted  
  
with the people around him. True, no parties or gimmicks yet, and still he's  
  
been having fun there, him and his neighbors, his family, the nice [and some  
  
very pretty] people there, and...  
  
"MistY! ano ba!" he yelled at his sister, telling her to quit tampering with  
  
his stuff. He had stuffed memories back there...pictures, palancas, cd's,  
  
short stories, a Dalumat article or two he copied... but most touchy were  
  
the pictures of a girl he left behind...  
  
eh? what was he thinking? he got up and started fixing his bed. for sounds,  
  
he turned on the radio and it put out 'i miss you' by incubus...that just  
  
made it worse. he sat down again, in his occasional 'nawalan ng pag-asa'  
  
moods, then...  
  
"Misty!" he yelled again, but when he looked, she wasn't there. nobody was  
  
tampering with it...and yet...he heard something.  
  
he turned the radio off. he got up and rifled through the suitcases and his  
  
closet, hearing a faint voice...a woman's ever-so-familiar voice...calling  
  
him...tempting him...haunting him... Then he saw something.  
  
Somewhere between his Squall costume and his Chrono Cross Soundtrack CD was  
  
a strange glowing glass sphere...to a common person, it was a glass bottle  
  
straight out of Alice in Wonderland, with a tag on it, instead of "drink  
  
me", it said "Let me out...". Inside was a red, opaque fluid. He shook it;  
  
the red color glistened, shifted to green, blue, purple...it illuminated  
  
somewhat brighter.  
  
A lound tumult surrounded him. it grew very dark, and it made and adverse  
  
effect on his being. he began to grow bitter, he felt a strange hurt, an  
  
uncommon longing inside... his eyes panned his surroundings, his new home,  
  
his room, the streets outside, and they looked different, as though color  
  
were flushed from them, leaving them in stark grey and red hues. he looked  
  
at his hands. it flashed in glowing silver... it was like it was alive... he  
  
read it again... "Let me out."... he felt it feed that longing...  
  
that longing to go back...  
  
CRASH.  
  
he opened his eyes. it was morning. "huh?" he said, as he looked straight  
  
into a cloudy, blue sky. he heard cars, birds and a soft breeze from a  
  
distance. his hands felt wet. he sat up.  
  
he was in Pisay, in the middle of the field.  
  
and then heard someone yell.  
  
He rubbed his eyes. he could hardly believe it...back?  
  
"pepper!"  
  
"Ano!?!?" he yelled back, turning around to see...  
  
nobody there...  
  
then his eyes were magnetized to a folder on the grass. He picked it up,  
  
walked a few steps to the grandstand to find shade. he sat down. he leafed  
  
through the pages, one by one. the folder was full of reports of some  
  
kind... some sort of inventory listing.  
  
"MBIO Group 3: 2 beakers, 600 ml. 1 beaker, 250-ml. 5 Inoculating loops." he  
  
turned the page. "P. Aromin: 1000-ml beaker." the pages went on and on, a  
  
very dull and boring thing, save for the strange red markings on the  
  
top-right corners of the pages... pentagrams? crystals? some kind of seal???  
  
what exactly brought him here in the first place???  
  
he reached the last page. it was a nondescript piece of bond paper, written  
  
in red. the ink stank of plasmic iron...it reminded pepper of blood.  
  
"You have been chosen."  
  
+++++  
  
Pisay. 8:30 AM.  
  
Joven walked around the now-sparsely populated front lobby, typical of the  
  
place at this time of the day. He pranced his usually way to the steps...  
  
"Joven..."  
  
Joven's attention was drawn to the creek area. Considering the time and  
  
place, most normal people wouldn't have been coming there... yet he would  
  
probably excuse this event to curiosity. He walked.  
  
He stood there on the bridge. Suddenly, a strange figure dropped down from  
  
the bamboo thicket. The figure was dressed in a very, very, VERY unusual  
  
garb: a red & green polka-dot hat, a ski mask, a grey cut-off shirt and  
  
white pajama pants designed for children. in his hands was a long,  
  
presumably sharp item...something like an ancient long sword...made entirely  
  
of glass...  
  
What could Joven do?  
  
He screamed.  
  
*****  
  
Rhea just stared blankly, "A vampire?! "  
  
"I'm telling you, it's true!!"  
  
She just raised an eyebrow, "You've got to be kidding me if you actually  
  
think Sir Vlad is a vampire. He can stand in the sun can't he?"  
  
" Psychic vampire," Felizia corrected, indignantly. "There's a difference.  
  
Psivamps can actually stand the sun and everything."  
  
"Uh ... Whatever," Leslie said.  
  
"And it's true!! I mean it!! How can it not be true! You see the CONDITION  
  
his students are after class!! And what he said at the retreat!! COME ON!!  
  
BELIEVE ME HERE, PEOPLE!!"  
  
Rhea and Leslie both rolled their eyes. Rhea tried to change the subject,  
  
"Where's Krissy anyway?"  
  
Leslie looked around, "Baka nagpapa-clear sa Bio Lab Tech. Or hinahanap niya  
  
si Sir Llaguno."  
  
"hey! Hey! HEY!! Are you guys still listening to me?!"  
  
"Oo nga. Kayo? Cleared na ba kayo dun?"  
  
Felizia finally sighed, "Yeah. I was cleared two weeks ago."  
  
"Buti ka pa. May kulang kami last week eh. Ngayon ko pa lang napa-sign."  
  
Leslie groaned.  
  
"Where is IDI?!" Rhea said. "Sabi ko sa kanya sa back lob tayo eh!"  
  
Felizia checked the time, "Ei. It's one 'o clock. I think Reg should be open  
  
again. I still have to negotiate my clearance with Ma'am Serrano."  
  
"Samahan na lang kita! Reg na lang kulang ko eh. Buti pa si Christine, last  
  
week pa na-clear."  
  
"Yeah ... Bye Rhea!"  
  
"Babalik lang kami pagkatapos!"  
  
"See you later, guys!" Rhea called as the two of them went up the back lobby  
  
stairs.  
  
So, Rhea was alone in the back lobby of Pisay. She didn't really care about  
  
it. It was, after all, still broad daylight. It was one in the afternoon.  
  
She frowned as she thought of Felizia's ridiculous theories that Sir Vlad  
  
was a 'psychic vampire.' It would probably be fun if something interesting  
  
would happen at Pisay now and then, so why not imagine that one of the  
  
teachers was a being that sucked the life and energy out of its victims?  
  
Of course, it could be that Felizia was just spending too much time making  
  
that so called 'manga' of hers.  
  
Ludicrous. Just ludicrous that something like that could happen at Pisay.  
  
That was what she was thinking until she turned toward the back of the  
  
Humanities building and saw Krissy running out of it, almost pale-faced.  
  
"Oi! Krissy! What took you so long!!"  
  
Krissy interrupted her and yelled, "Do you know what I just saw?!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"You know how it is that we're always joking that Sir Vasquez and Sir Jun  
  
have something to do with the glasswares?! Why they're always missing?! We  
  
started to joke around that Sir Vasquez eats the glasswares that end up  
  
missing?!"  
  
"Yeah! So?"  
  
"Well, I just passed by the Bio Equipment room at alam mo kung ano ang  
  
nakita ko?!! "  
  
"Uh ..."  
  
" Nakita ko si Sir Vasquez at si Sir Samson na nandoon sa loob!! "  
  
"And so?"  
  
"May kinakausap sila at may hawak silang glasswares!!!! "  
  
*****  
  
"I thought you were supposed to be negotiating with Ma'am Serrano!!" Leslie  
  
frowned.  
  
"I lied," Felizia's eyes darted back and forth, seraching the faculty  
  
center. "Now where is Sir Vlad?"  
  
They approached the cubicle and checked the doorknob. Locked.  
  
"I still need to be cleared by the Reg you know."  
  
"Okay, already! I'm satisfied. He's not here. And most fo time, if he's not  
  
here, you find him when you're not looking for him. Now I negotiate with  
  
Ma'am Serrano."  
  
*****  
  
A little while later, Leslie was finally cleared and was admiring [?] her  
  
cards. Felizia was stomping her way down the stairs.  
  
"It's all right. You just need to do that stuff and come back tomorrow or  
  
whenever."  
  
"I don't want to come back tomorrow ..." :whine:  
  
They stepped out of the stairwell and stared.  
  
"What's wrong with Krissy?"  
  
Rhea looked up. "She's catatonic. She thought she saw Sir Vasquez and Sir  
  
Samson having a glassware feast."  
  
"I am not catatonic and I did see them carrying the glasswares!!"  
  
"Cool!" Felizia grinned, "So they are the glasswares we think they are!"  
  
"Did you see them actually eating the glassware?" Leslie asked.  
  
"Well ... no ..."  
  
"See?" Rhea said. "No glass eaters."  
  
That's when they heard the scream.  
  
"Wh-what was that?!"  
  
"It sounded like ... it came from the ... creek?"  
  
*****  
  
Basketball court. Raph and James, 1-on-1. Who wins? James of course. Not  
  
that raph didn't stand a chance; he'd shoot a decent shooting game. but  
  
james was too good.  
  
they sat down awhile, chatted about stuff, summer, James' next basketball  
  
season at his village... usual stuff...  
  
then they noticed fritz run towards them...smiling that ever-familiar  
  
smile...  
  
"Siguro naka-score 'to," James mused, and they laughed. Raph thought to  
  
himself "Siguro lalabas nanaman sa SM to, tapos uupakan nanaman si Kiel sa  
  
CS."  
  
But fritz said different.  
  
"Raph... nakita ko si Pepper... bumalik galing sa states."  
  
wow. big news. speechless. amazing. what does one say?  
  
"Ulol."  
  
"'Di nga!! nandun siya! nasa grandstand!!"  
  
"Tapos, sasabihim mo kumakain ng glasswares si Sir Vasquez?" James laughed  
  
out loud. "SAan galing yon?" Raph ignored it, more focused on what fritz  
  
said.  
  
Then a stange figure emerged... unruly hair and pajamas and all, walking in  
  
a strut only "The Rock" from the WWF used...  
  
"What the F---K"...  
  
*****  
  
Before long, he told his story. The three guys didn't want to believe it. no  
  
way. but that didn't mean they couldn't have fun listening.  
  
"Well, it's good to see you again, but REALLY. Why r u back? Siguro binalik  
  
mo yung crush mong si Ki---"  
  
"ANO kaya yon!?!?" Pepper cut in. "I was fine over there...now i'm..."  
  
"raph, this looks serious. naka...naka-pajama nga lang siya eh!" said James.  
  
Words of wisdom indeed. fritz chuckled a bit. it WAS, after all, quite  
  
amusing.  
  
raph took the envelope. "You have been chosen." The message was so  
  
obvious...he looked for what was hidden, those markings, those signs...  
  
"Muka siyang map." fritz quipped.  
  
"mapa ng...pisay?"  
  
they got up. this was real freaky. they figured maybe pepper's grandparents  
  
or somebody would still help him find some clothes and a place to stay, so  
  
with a few phone calls over cell phones, they established these things. then  
  
they started walking, studying the paper.  
  
"Wait..." raph unfastened the orange folder, and each page he layed out. the  
  
signs, symbols at the back...the four pieced them...like some kind of  
  
puzzle, written in red.  
  
yep. pisay map alright. one part was encircled...at the south-western side  
  
of the humanites building...  
  
the Research unit?  
  
a quick trek took them there. then they saw it. it wasn't THE research  
  
unit... it was one of the 'metal lids' that line the middle of the ASTB and  
  
Humanities bldg. what's inside? sewage?  
  
they couldn't help themselves. a SHCSRREEEaCH later, the lid was open...  
  
it was a stairwell...leading down. it stank like a crypt, but at the stairs  
  
were drips of candlewax... someone's been down there?  
  
sunlight glistened that high noon at something else littered down there...  
  
broken glass.  
  
they stood there. they had no idea what they've just uncovered.  
  
then there was a ruckus, like someone yelling. they were unsure where it  
  
came from.  
  
they prayed it didn't come from down there.  
  
*****  
  
it was dark, and Joven could hardly see anything. he was lying down on  
  
something... something cold... cold like metal. he felt it exposed all over  
  
his skin, neck to heel. his throat was hoarse, tired maybe... was he  
  
yelling? he couldn't remember.  
  
there were 2 other voices... he couldn't tell...he couldn't remember...but  
  
he listened, pretending to be unconscious...those voices...so strange...but  
  
he felt he knew one of them...and it was cold...so cold.  
  
"So what's the point of all this? it's been two days. we haven't found out  
  
anything..."  
  
"I still want to know why..."  
  
"Oh come on! all he did was wail. good he didn't cry. i would've vomited."  
  
"then let's make him suffer."  
  
"You go. i've lost my appetite."  
  
"fine... "  
  
-silence, then continues with-  
  
"still, it's so strange... here's one of them..."  
  
"Yeah, one of them you hate so much. Why? whatever have they done to you?"  
  
"what are you talking about?"  
  
"I've heard the rumors, the gossip. i've seen you around them. you sent away  
  
their hosts during their prom. i know how you and with all your power refuse  
  
to extend yourself to help them when they're down. admit it. you hate this  
  
brat's batch."  
  
"then why do so many love them? huh? what have they done?"  
  
"What have they done to you?"  
  
"When i handled them, when i wanted to sway them to reason, to what's  
  
right...aaaargh! i swear... they're EVIL!"  
  
"as you say, madama moral character."  
  
"Hah... they're despicable. Batch 02. what's the deal with them? ask anyone;  
  
abuel, tarun, serrano, vasquez, yu-hico, hell, even the lost ones like  
  
curaming and ces like them!"  
  
"and celeste?"  
  
"aguila loves them like her own. its disgusting."  
  
"so? don't you have your allies?"  
  
"who? vlad? bernal? don't make me laugh. they may pledge fealty, but that  
  
never bought loyal servitude. they've got a soft spot for them, believe me.  
  
well i'm glad they're almost gone! they won't bother me no more!"  
  
"Then why this?"  
  
"i will learn why they defy. why they live like they do. think like they  
  
do."  
  
"so you can brainwash another batch to worship you?"  
  
"no... worship not me...something greater than that...you'll see."  
  
Joven shuddered. then the voice continued...  
  
"Still... we must find that boy... 'the chosen'..."  
  
"oh PUH-LEEZE! not the legends again."  
  
"laugh. i don't care."  
  
"the last time there was 'legend-of-a-boy-who-will-be-the-savior-of-pisay,"  
  
the one who answered the call was a GIRL. since when did your stupid  
  
hallucinations work?"  
  
"they have NEVER FAILED! they were in use for ages before you were concieved  
  
in God's brain! and I have seen it too!"  
  
"When was that? one the Second Day? give it up."  
  
"mark my words, i'll remember that."  
  
"until your old age erases it again. till then; i'll be leaving."  
  
"where?"  
  
"Does it matter?"  
  
-footsteps...a stariwell?-  
  
"oh, before i go, our agents report they've found him...he left. outside.  
  
looks like your 'prophecies' of him being there were wrong."  
  
"WHAT! YOU, YOU...MISCREANT! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME HE WAS WITHOUT?"  
  
"you never asked."  
  
-footsteps grow faint-  
  
and now joven was left at the mercy of the now-frustrated one...who fell  
  
asleep.  
  
*********  
  
Paromin woke up that night... nightmares again. he waved his hand back and  
  
forth, up and down. nothing. he picked up pillow, threw it against a wall,  
  
and brandished his arm, pointing a fist at it... nothing. he jumped up on  
  
his bed and yelled "Ikuzo, Zero!"... he only succeded in making himself feel  
  
stupid.  
  
buti na lang walang taong gising...  
  
o meron ba?  
  
ahh well...he dismissd the idea. he felt better not because of the lack of  
  
an audience to see him in that strange moment... but because it was all a  
  
dream.  
  
but they felt so real! and so liberating! they were the same each night...  
  
running around, chased by evil, killing it as quickly as his fast arms, legs  
  
and wits carried him... it was like he lost 50 pounds! he was suddenly so  
  
nimble...and his hands...wielded incredible power...  
  
"what the hell?!?!" he shook his head. no way. he'd been up the last night  
  
playing MMX5 again... then there was the ugly-looking ice  
  
cream-that-tasted-kinda-old ice cream he ate that night too...then there was  
  
the memory of him watching Cartoon Networks' "Adult Swim" again that  
  
night... yeah... maybe that's why...  
  
that's why... for the past 2 weeks?!?!? the same dream!!??  
  
and it was how they ended that freaked him... a voice... that sounded like  
  
joven...or was it...somebody...?  
  
"First it was you... soon, all your friends will be JUST LIKE YOU... and  
  
will succumb TO ME!!!" ending with cliche demonic laughter and him  
  
screaming...  
  
it felt so old to him, but somehow... it still struck a chord... All his  
  
friends? just like him???  
  
"PAROMIN! YOUR SOUL IS..."  
  
"Aargh!" he yelled. it was haunting him.  
  
nobody seemed to hear.  
  
then...  
  
swoosh.  
  
that noise... oh, it was an insult to his senses! that noise... that  
  
reminded him...  
  
swoosh...  
  
there it was again! never did so innocent the sound of a Nike logo seem  
  
so... terrible... it seemed...  
  
swoosh ...  
  
to open a scar  
  
swoosh  
  
in his soul  
  
swoosh  
  
"NO!" he yelled. but paro could not recognize the voice.  
  
he looked at his hands. his legs...  
  
they were changing...  
  
looking...just like in his dreams...  
  
he smiled...  
  
Oh it was damn dark alright and smelly. The four fought their way through  
  
the unlit hallways beneath Pisay. The stench not unlike the creek... in fact  
  
the damp feeling under them felt like creek water. Not the best place to be  
  
in, especially if you're clad in pajamas and sandals.  
  
"Ano ba itong natapakan ko?" Pepper moaned as he felt something soft and  
  
squishy under his slippers. "Sa tingin ko t--"  
  
"Hoy Pepper!" Raph looked nervously at the darkness where Pepper was  
  
supposed to be "Wag ka naman manakot ng ganyan!" Nothing, no response. The  
  
silence appeared to mock him "Pepper di na ito biro! Di ka na nakakata--"  
  
Raph froze.  
  
A lough high pitched wail echoed around them. Followed by a series of  
  
manical laughs surrounded the boys.  
  
"James, Fritz..." Raph didn't want to admit he was scared but common sense  
  
won over false bravado "Bumalik na tayo"  
  
"Tama ka rin" The reassuring voice of Fritz answered back "Tara na James...  
  
James?" Silence and darkness laughed again as it claimed its second victim.  
  
"Raph nawawala na si James!"  
  
Raph cursed. This was not some sick joke anymore. "Tara na Fritz!"  
  
"Pero paano na si Pepper at James? Iiwana ba lang natin sila"  
  
"Balikan na lang natin sila" Raph didn't want to abandon his friends but...  
  
"Mas mabuti sa kanila na balikan na lang natin sila pagkatapos natin lumabas  
  
at maghingi ng tulong"  
  
Fritz hated to admit it but Raph was right, they couldn't do much in their  
  
state. Help would be a very welcome addition to this mess they were in. Yet  
  
he couldn't get out of his mind what could be happening to the lost two  
  
"Pero... paano kung may magyari sa dalawang yun?"  
  
"Whatever's happening to them. It's just going to get worse if we wait any  
  
longer here or if he rush head on into that" Raph referred to the darkness  
  
ahead.  
  
"Sige na nga..." Fritz put down his head in sorrow and walked away. Each  
  
step felt like he himself was damning the two.  
  
The two ran back the path they had took just earlier. Cursing each step as  
  
they retraced it. It had lead them to nothing but trouble, and more than  
  
that only two sets of footsteps were getting back. No, Raph thought, he was  
  
going to make it four "Don't give up hope guys..." It felt though as he was  
  
telling it to himself rather than to his abandoned friends. He kept on  
  
running for their sake and his own. He ran for what seemed hours, the fear  
  
acting like some whip urging him forward.  
  
He heard Fritz say something but didn't reply. Fear was upon him it allowed  
  
no other thoughts to invade domination of his mind. So he kept on running.  
  
Until he stopped short of a wall just ahead of him. Raph looked around, left  
  
and right... where did he come from. He tried to remember where he passed  
  
earlier... or if he passed this way at all. He turned to Fritz. Fritz? Where  
  
was Fritz? Raph stared dumbly ahead... he wanted to assure himself that his  
  
friend was still there but he was afraid that voicing the question would  
  
invite unwelcome answers. But he didn't have to. His memory served well as a  
  
horrid reminder of unacceptable facts. Fear gave way to confusion which gave  
  
way to realization.  
  
"Doval... Tulong!"  
  
That was what Fritz cried out earlier. Fear settled in again. Raph was all  
  
alone with the darkness.  
  
"the virus is working, madam"  
  
"excellent. and the 'rescue party'?"  
  
"in due time..."  
  
"wonderful! five slaves for the price of one!"  
  
[both] BWAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!  
  
joven thought he was in deep trouble... now he felt sorry for them...  
  
--------  
  
raph woke. the light... he never could sleep with lights so bright... he  
  
came to... and everything looked so...pretty...  
  
all around him...it looked... and somehow felt like he was in a prism... or  
  
was it closer to SaGa Frontier's 'light labyrinth' puzzle at Luminous? SaGa  
  
frontier...ooh! how he wished he could remember how he solved that one! if  
  
only it were SaGa 2, and he were gustave...but he wasnt...  
  
he walked slowly, fearing his weight might crack something beneath him.  
  
funny... the crystalline structures...looked like Pisay! the light seemed to  
  
read his mind... rainbow-colored beams started to shoot from above, coloring  
  
the buildings like he recalled... he tried to alter them, from white to  
  
red... and true enough... they did...  
  
he walked slowly with utter amazement, and sat down on this rock near the  
  
admin parking lot, remembering how he spied so many people walking by.  
  
and it settled... he was alone. and stuck in some weird world.  
  
"I've got to get out of here."  
  
--------  
  
"will he be alright?" Lopao asked.  
  
"i'm not sure how his body was covered in this...metallic armor of sorts...  
  
it seemes cybernetically fused to his muscle and nervous systems," the  
  
doctor explained. "The technology is far too advanced for us to treat or  
  
remove right now."  
  
"but ok naman siya?" Apple asked her.  
  
"yes. internal vital signs are positive. whatever seems to have gotten  
  
paromin didn't tamper with internal parts; brain, heart, lungs,  
  
digestives... all ok, but his arms, legs, spina column, skull... my, my, my"  
  
lopao, intrigued, continued with "so... what's this? some scientist  
  
tampering with him?"  
  
"looks to me," the good doctor answered, "like a strange viral strain. look  
  
at the blood samples! they're like nothing i've ever seen! it's as if... the  
  
blood was making metals like iron, sodium, potassium, calcium and the like  
  
to show up on his external body, making the electric wiring," she said  
  
pointing out his arm, "while carbon cells seemed to have formed some  
  
super-strong adamantine synthetic armor around him," her now tapping his  
  
steel chest.  
  
silence...what could they say?  
  
"yes."  
  
"but i don't really know. that's what our lead mathematicians and experts  
  
can tell us right now." she said. and she left charm to their own devices.  
  
"hanep... si paromin pala yun," quipped Moises.  
  
"siya ba? look at him! parang robocop na ata yan eh!" argued raissa.  
  
"o kaya parang lata ng sardinas na yupi at tinagpi-tagpi kay paromin,"  
  
Celeste added jokingly.  
  
"ows?" Jaafgie asked her. "mas naalala ko megaman."  
  
"eh, siya ba nga yan?" Kit persisted with Raissa's question.  
  
"it recognized me nung tumakbo ako't sumigaw akong mula sa flagpole  
  
area...at saka nakikita naman natin sa mukha niya, noh?" lopao replied.  
  
"it's gotta be paro."  
  
The council was at the hospital, along with some people who were at the  
  
scene. after a day-long battle with local cops and the AFP, they brought  
  
down the thing known only as "mecha-paromin".  
  
People then thought it was the end of the world. other people on the evening  
  
news [particularly Madam Auring] said that mecha-paromin, along with the  
  
death of Rico Yan was the start of a 'dark age' for the philippines. it was  
  
like some dark aparation of destruction, taking pot-shots at the "Agham Road  
  
Tapat" with gigantic blue balls of pure energy that could've leveled  
  
skyscrapers. and it took down hundreds...maybe thousands of squatter  
  
shanties there in a blaze. such power... then the army came, the police,  
  
agent dobermaxx came... they all struggled to put him away, and all  
  
failed...  
  
then it seemed to glance upon something across the street...some people it  
  
appeared to recognize... and they recognized him...  
  
and the mighty mecha-paromin fell from the sky... like all energy zapped out  
  
of it... falling, falling so far up... and crashed on another squatter home.  
  
"What's this?" Nestee noticed attached to the falled warrior's head.  
  
"MAYbe The Shit's sOme Kin Do Antenna!" Morales said, pushing the others  
  
aside.  
  
"uy! Morales! wag mong galawin yan!" his classmates told him.  
  
he didn't listen: he pulled it out.  
  
"[inhaling]Hhhuuhhh-"  
  
"[exhale]RrrAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"  
  
Veterans' Memorial [the nearest hospital within 1 km] shook with might that  
  
rivaled Mt. Pinatubo nearly 11 years before. reports came the next day how  
  
erap almost died of heart failure...  
  
but nobody in charm forgot what happened...when paromin woke up.  
  
the people of charm were stunned. the rubbed their eyes, half-blinded by the  
  
sudden flash, partly deaf from the scream.  
  
"uh...guys?"  
  
Paromin was back to normal.  
  
charm YES! 2002  
  
darkness.  
  
not the comforting darkness of sleep, nor the cool blanket that Night lays  
  
over the weary world.  
  
a cold darkness. where fear reigns. where warmth is forgotten. where  
  
death is a favor. where reality is forgotten in the cold and in the despair  
  
that one feels.  
  
it is beautiful.  
  
in that darkness, a kneeling figure could be made out.  
  
`it is over...`  
  
bojit rose from his kneeling position, bloody hands clenched tightly.  
  
shards of broken glass littered the floor.  
  
`over...`  
  
he raised his bloody hands to his eyes.  
  
and wept.  
  
a voice whispered in the darkness.  
  
`who`s there?`  
  
no reply.  
  
`what the [expletive deleted]? i`m warning you...who the [expletive  
  
deleted] are you?`  
  
no reply, save the mournful wailing of the wind.  
  
bojit grasped at the nearest object, and ignored the sharp pain of the  
  
shard cutting through his flesh. the blood was warm, and a comfort. the  
  
pain showed him reality, the pain gave him meaning.  
  
what he did would cost him. dearly. he had no idea of the repercussions  
  
of his actions. and he did not care. he had lost her, and had nothing else  
  
left to lose.  
  
he heard giggling. not the charming little laugh of the girl that loved him  
  
once, but the high-pitched manic laughter of a madman.  
  
where did it come from? he groped his way in the darkness and  
  
swallowed in fear.  
  
the giggling stopped.  
  
********  
  
Fritz ran. Gunfire was ringing in his ears. Another shot was fired; he  
  
recognized the sound... AWAP [Artic Warfare Accuracy Pistol] fire! Now he  
  
knew hiding behind those crates was useless, lest they poke a nasty hole in  
  
both him and the crate.  
  
He rolled, grabbed a pistol and a pair of earplugs on the floor, not  
  
questioning why they're there anymore. An AK-47u was also there, with a  
  
suppressor attached. [it started to look more like Metal Gear Solid 2 than  
  
CS for fritz]... He plugged his ears to help ease future noise. He peeked  
  
out from his little hole on the wall...  
  
Fritz was hiding for dear life. He last remembered walking down a shaft with  
  
James and Pepper... He recalls slipping down, then awakening in an elevator  
  
shaft. Before he knew it, he was being chased by a crack Counter-Terrorist  
  
Team out on an assassination run, with him as prime target. He wasn't too  
  
nervous. The walls reminded him of de_dust3, or some strange version of it,  
  
so he felt confident of his knowledge of the place. Armed, he felt confident  
  
of his position. The place had one tunnel opening at his right, and he was  
  
overlooking another entrance one storey below him... He could pick off  
  
anyone who walked in... Yes, he loved that position.  
  
The squad team walked in carefully. Fritz read the names on their  
  
uniforms... "Blue Deathscythe". "Cointosser". "headhacker". "Meryl"... so  
  
familiar...he noticed the third one: "SEXYBaby"...  
  
he remembered all of a sudden! It's them! his batchmates! that's noel, kiel  
  
and morales! He looked at the rest, and guessed quite well that the others  
  
were jaycris, harold, bants and Tactay... bodies were strewn on the ground,  
  
he noticed the terrorist teams' exposed, bloodied faces...MUON boys??!?  
  
did they really shoot them dead??  
  
What were they doing? hunting him down? he didn't know... they've been  
  
shooting at him... could they really be after his blood? or is this some  
  
game?  
  
Should he take the shot?  
  
he didn't know anymore...  
  
not anymore...  
  
******  
  
"How goes the war?"  
  
"paromin down."  
  
"wonderful! and the other boys?"  
  
"the fat one's already come to, walking in Luminous as we speak. the skinny  
  
German kid's experiencing the CTF trainer... the other two will be finished  
  
as well."  
  
"ahh... glorious. are they infected yet?"  
  
"soon. like you asked, they're supposed to think it's all a bad dream. then  
  
the vector can get them."  
  
"and how is our vector?"  
  
"asleep. still in lab 1. we've completed the testing you prescribed"  
  
"splendid. I'm well pleased."  
  
"does... her ladyship really want the strange deep-voiced one raped by  
  
gays?"  
  
" it doesn't matter so much now... for now that phase 1 is almost done we  
  
can take the Joven Ramirez kid to the cloning lab our dear slave Ellery's  
  
been maintaining underneath the Obudsman office and find the keys to  
  
acquiring great power for ourselves!!!..."  
  
"uh..."  
  
"?"  
  
"we still havent found out the...um...secret."  
  
" [lightning shoots out from fingers]"  
  
"OWWW!"  
  
"WHAT...IS THE POINT... OF HOLDING ON TO THESE FOOLS...IF WE CANT...!"  
  
" forgive me madam!"  
  
"[expletive deleted] you. look. it costs millions to keep thing project  
  
working. get it?!"  
  
"Ok, ok! sheesh! well, look at it this way, we have paromi..."  
  
[beeping noise from terminal.]  
  
"AAAh!"  
  
"what is it now?!?!"  
  
"uhh... n-nothng you ladyship!"  
  
"[looks at monitor] Dammit!! They've found the tracking/enslavement device  
  
we installed in paromin! curse them!... so... 02 brats are really as smart  
  
as they're dolled to be, eh? we'll see..."  
  
******  
  
"How'd we get ourselves into this?"  
  
"Do you HAVE to keep asking us that?"  
  
"How'd we get ourselves into this?"  
  
"Where ARE we anyway?"  
  
Rhea finally stood and took a look around. "Who'd have thought there was a  
  
place like this in Pisay?"  
  
"ARE we still in Pisay?" Leslie asked.  
  
"We can assume ..."  
  
Felizia finally stopped whining and put her chin in her hands as she sat  
  
cross-legged on the cold stone floor. "Is this what we're supposed to get  
  
for trying to HELP someone?"  
  
"Malay ko!" Krissy said, "Maybe this is REALLY what happens if you stay in  
  
Pisay too long after classes end."  
  
"I still don't get it." Felizia mused, "When we arrived at the creek, noone  
  
was there and then .... i don't remember anything else."  
  
"The next thing I knew we were here ..." Rhea shook her head, "We didn't  
  
even find out who had screamed."  
  
[BANG!!]  
  
They all jumped as the door suddenly opened.  
  
"Useless kid ........." something, or some body was tossed into the small  
  
cell. "I don't understand why her ladyship just doesn't make a slave of  
  
you!! What use are you to her anyway?!"  
  
No answer. Of course, none was even expected.  
  
"Fwah! You 02 kids are all the same to me. Enjoy the new company while it  
  
lasts."  
  
[BANG!!]  
  
The door slammed closed again.  
  
"Eh? Who's this?"  
  
"And who was that ?"  
  
"Sounded familiar ..."  
  
"First thing's first!! Who of our batchmates is this?"  
  
"What makes you think it's a batchmate?"  
  
"02, sabi eh."  
  
Finally, one of the girls knelt down to check on the person in the cell with  
  
them. A face peered up at her.  
  
"Nandito rin kayo ...."  
  
it was Joven.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"  
  
****  
  
....  
  
in the darkness, bojit shuddered. from fear, or from the cold, he could not  
  
say. what matters was he felt closer to death than he ever did before.  
  
how right he was...  
  
tears still stained his cheeks, tears! for the first time in years, the he  
  
could taste bitter saltiness of tears. it seemed so familiar and so  
  
distant...  
  
the voices wouldn`t stop. they wouldn`t. wailing, crying, gibbering...they  
  
just wouldn`t shut up.  
  
`shut the [expletive deleted] up!!!` he snarled.  
  
the voices just laughed at him. and wailed even louder.  
  
he had no idea what possessed him to do such an act. blood stained his  
  
hands, his face...his body. it was his own.  
  
he felt afraid. so afraid and so alone. helpless. at the mercy of whatever  
  
evil that lay hidden in the darkness. afraid, knowing there was nothing  
  
that he could do. that no one could save him now.  
  
he took another step forward. broken glass crunched beneath his bare  
  
feet. the sharp pain was welcome in the ethereal surroundings. it was his  
  
sole grip on reality. and his final, slipping grasp on his fading sanity.  
  
giggling again. drowning out the cacophonic babble of the voices, the  
  
manic laughter sounded again and again. the laughter that bites deep into  
  
your soul...  
  
trying to ignore it, he took another step forward...  
  
laughter. laughter at your ignorance, exposing all your weaknesses,  
  
your humiliations, your deepest fears...  
  
and another...  
  
it know your secrets. every single thing you`ve locked away.  
  
everything that you hide, it can see. it slices away your privacy, exposing  
  
you. you. the you that you wish to hide. the you that you are, and wish  
  
you never were.  
  
your true self.  
  
tears flowed once more. tears from his eyes mixed with the blood staining  
  
his cheeks. the darkness seemed to be more real. whatever reality he  
  
had known was forgotten in the darkness.  
  
yet another step...  
  
you are ashamed to be yourself. for it is painful to know what one  
  
really is. the laughter. it is the laughter of people who talk behind you.  
  
it  
  
is the laughter of the people who know who you really are.  
  
it is your laughter.  
  
...and tripped faced first into something that felt, smelt and even tasted  
  
like a pile of shit.  
  
(he wondered where the knowledge of taste came from, and remembered the  
  
natto of japan. close enough.)  
  
he snarled, an animal sound. more bestial than human. once again, the  
  
giggling stopped. but not the voices. the voices were still there. he rose,  
  
slowly, painfully---  
  
you cannot hide who you are forever. it finds you. one day or another.  
  
and when it does...the person that you were----dies.  
  
---and found himself in front of a person with an oddly familiar face. he  
  
knew that face well. he had seen it many times. he had washed it,  
  
combed its hair, shaved it....  
  
....despised it since he first saw a mirror. the times that he found himself  
  
wishing that it looked more like, well, anybody else`s actually. almost  
  
anybody. it was his face.  
  
and it was smiling.  
  
`hello, bojit.`  
  
....  
  
....  
  
lopao awoke , his shirt matted with cold sweat. it had been a horrible  
  
night mare, a horrible dream. his heart was beating wildly. the pain! the  
  
pain!  
  
no! musn`t think about it! god, the dream....  
  
crap....i think i wet myself....gotta piss...  
  
he rose from his bed. indeed it was wet. that was strange. he hadn`t  
  
bedwet in well, years. the nightmare was so real. he could almost feel  
  
the---  
  
lopao shuddered at the memory and quickly tried to put it behind him.  
  
cripes, what was that smell the blanket looked darker than usual...it gave  
  
off a weird, metallic smell...it looked like....  
  
oh [expletive deleted]. he thought. it couldn`t be---  
  
`BLOOD? what the [expletive deleted]is going on ???` he screamed? he  
  
looked was horrified at what he saw.  
  
blood was spurting out of his guts.  
  
he screamed once more. and again, and again as more blood gushed  
  
forth.  
  
.....  
  
lopao awoke , his shirt matted with cold sweat. it had been a horrible  
  
night mare, a horrible dream. his heart was beating wildly. the pain! the  
  
pain!  
  
no! musn`t think about it! god, the dream....  
  
crap....i think i wet myself....gotta piss...  
  
he checked his bedsheets. no. thank god. it was ordinary urine. for once  
  
in his life he was more glad than embarassed to find the ammonic odor of  
  
urine on his bedsheets.  
  
lopao scrambled out of bed. he thought: jesus, i did wet myself. better  
  
change.  
  
he groped for the light switch. he flipped it.  
  
nothing happened.  
  
`shit. not again...`  
  
in the darkness, he flailed around blindly, eventually finding his closet.  
  
`what a night` he muttered as he opened his closet `i hope that---`  
  
what he saw horrified him. in the closet was a rotting corpse. his corpse.  
  
the putrid body had on its face a fixed grin. then...  
  
it winked at him.  
  
lopao was too horrified to scream. there was a pain in his heart....  
  
`oh god...no!...can`t breathe....`  
  
he fell into the darkness.  
  
.....  
  
lopao awoke , his shirt matted with cold sweat. it had been a horrible  
  
night mare, a horrible dream. his heart was beating wildly. the pain! the  
  
pain!  
  
no! musn`t think about it! god, the dream....  
  
he sat up in bed, dreading what was next. his sheets weren`t wet this  
  
time...oh [expletive deleted]. now they were.  
  
he groped around in the darkness until he found the light switch. he  
  
flipped it and light flooded the room, blinding him temporarily. he winced  
  
in pain and shut his eyes.  
  
when he had adjusted to the brightness, his eyes were moist. and his  
  
cheeks were....wet?  
  
his cheeks were wet. tears? not now.... he put his fingers to his cheeks  
  
and felt the wetness.  
  
that was funny. this feels different.  
  
he looked at his hands and was horrified at what he saw.  
  
blood. he was crying blood.  
  
.....  
  
lopao awoke , his shirt matted with cold sweat. it had been a horrible  
  
night mare, a horrible dream. his heart was beating wildly. the pain! the  
  
pain!  
  
no! musn`t think about it! god, the dream....  
  
he sat up, gasping wildly. he tried to get his breath back, slow down his  
  
heart rate. he failed.  
  
`musn`t lose contr--- oh [expletive deleted]` he had lost bladder control  
  
again.  
  
he was dreading another nightmare. will this never end? will i ever wake up?  
  
out of the darkness, a silent voice answered him.  
  
`no. i don`t think so....`  
  
he heard the crack of a whip (what??) and saw the figures approaching  
  
him. they seemed like....like....  
  
lopao screamed. he screamed and screamed and screamed.  
  
there was no escape.  
  
.....  
  
in the waking world, two silent figures were watching the slumbering form  
  
of PSHS 2002`s batch president.  
  
`do you think we should wake him?`  
  
a moment of thought. little did he know that the a man`s life depended on  
  
his answer.  
  
`nah. he looks tired. i mean, after what he did---`  
  
there are simpler words with which one can doom a man.  
  
`you`re probably right. he`s twitching again. like a baby goat or  
  
something. you know, moments like these can make you remember his  
  
age. oh wait. forget it. you know what i mean....`  
  
`cute. wonder what he could be dreaming about?  
  
`beats me. yes.`  
  
`let`s go.`  
  
`yes. let`s.`  
  
*****  
  
IT was raining that night. PAromin was asked to stay a few more days in the  
  
hospital while some doctors ran more tests. Paro felt he was fine, but his  
  
arms and back felt really tired, and on some days he came down with a light  
  
flu. but that didnt bother him. what troubled him were the stories told of  
  
'paromin X', the cyber-god-monster-robot that devastated the Tapat. he was  
  
told he was that thing... but it was like a lost memory to him.  
  
"Tulog na ba si Lopao?" The door creaked as Ma'am Aguila as some other  
  
classmates left, not before greeting ma'am. Visiting hours were almost over,  
  
but the hospital was gracious to allow paro's friends to stay on. It would  
  
make more sense for the hospital to bar them from visiting, but considering  
  
what happened last time, they thought it might help paro 'get well' faster.  
  
"opo mam," sir vlad replied. "Bakit po?"  
  
"ano...nag-text sa akin sina Abi, kumusta daw kayo," she said, referring to  
  
paro and the others. Sir vlad nodded with an "ah... kinukumusta... si Lopao?  
  
".  
  
"Hoy hindi sa ganoon!" Ma'am yelled back, ready to break laughing. Good  
  
thing Lopao was too busy dreaming.  
  
It was noble of sir vlad and lopao to stand watch so paro's parents could  
  
rest easier over what happened... they were in shock their son was what  
  
burned out hundreds of squatters homeless.  
  
"o, anong balita?" Ma'am asked paro.  
  
"wala pa po... di pa nila alam kung ano yung problema..."  
  
"e yung lagnat mo?"  
  
"ayos na po."  
  
they chatted for a little bit longer, then ma'am aguila got up, and they  
  
exchanged farewells. the hour hand of the clock was touching 11. Paromin  
  
didnt feel up to watching tv.  
  
so he wasn't alone, sir vlad was company, and so was lopao, still sleeping  
  
soundly. Lopao was tossing a bit in his sleep... sir vlad closed his eyes  
  
concentrating on something, paromin thought he was praying or something.  
  
he didn't have a clue...  
  
of what sir vlad  
  
and all his power  
  
was capable  
  
of doing  
  
of what  
  
it was doing  
  
to Lopao...  
  
and what it could do  
  
to him.  
  
He had no idea at all...  
  
....  
  
lopao was dreaming...  
  
he knew that, of course. he was trapped in this endless cycle of  
  
nightmares, hoping to wake up into reality, only to find himself trapped in  
  
a nightmare worse than the last.  
  
he shuddered at the recollections. he thought that nothing was worse than  
  
the one where he was in a room full of sex-starved transvestites until he  
  
woke up and found himself naked and hog-tied in a room full of sex-  
  
starved transvestites. lopao could almost feel the pain up his...  
  
he winced.  
  
since then he had tried to stay `awake`, and not get lost in a worse  
  
nightmare. he had long since given up hope of reentering the waking  
  
world.  
  
this nightmare was peculiarly tame. it was dark. not ordinary darkness,  
  
but the kind that seems to weigh heavily on your spirits. at least there  
  
weren`t any rotting corpses, or uncontrollable bleeding, hungry monsters  
  
or horny transvestites who were bloody creative with....he shuddered  
  
again.  
  
at least, not yet.  
  
the only light was from the eerily full moon. that was strange...the moon  
  
was full and bright, yet its light never seemed to reach the ground. it  
  
seemed trapped in the darkness....what was up with that?  
  
he trudged on, dreading what would certainly come. he tried to whistle to  
  
himself, anything to get his mind off the darkness. he feared what would  
  
come if he remained, and was terrified at what he would walk into.  
  
there seemed to be no way out. voices muttered and whispered, but they  
  
were lost in the non-existent wind. the wind that seemed to suck out  
  
every bit of hope he had, every single joy he had every known...only  
  
despair remained. the wind that seemed to rattle every fiber of his being.  
  
the wind that fought to destroy his soul.  
  
try as he might, he failed to make out any words. nothing. the voices  
  
remained on the edge of hearing, just waiting...laughter? was  
  
that....laughter?  
  
waiting...  
  
lopao...he walked on.  
  
alone in the dark.  
  
....  
  
....  
  
`hello bojit. remember me?`  
  
the figure was smiling eerily. bojit knew that look all too well. he had  
  
usually reserved that cruel smile, or smirk, for debating.  
  
or for when he knew the person he was talking to was a clueless jerk.  
  
the figure seemed amused by this, and it tilted its head to one side as it  
  
peered even more closely at him.  
  
the darkness seemed to press on him. he could see the figure well  
  
enough, but everything else was enveloped by that dark curtain. he could  
  
not see anyone, or anything else, even if he tried.  
  
it was dressed in a gakuran, the high collared uniform of japanese high  
  
school. strangely enough, it was the same garment he wore. the only  
  
difference was his was blood stained and torn, while the other seemed to  
  
be neatly pressed.  
  
`what`s the matter, boy?` it continued in that all-too-familiar cruel tone  
  
`cat got your tongue?  
  
bojit shook his head numbly, trying to clear his head. the voices still  
  
wouldn`t go away. they weren`t as loud as they had been, but they were  
  
still an annoying presence. he shook his head once more.  
  
this was unreal. he grasped on the shard he held harder, trying to focus  
  
on the pain he felt. the pain. the sensation. the blood flowing was real.  
  
the  
  
pain was real.  
  
the figure in front of him wasn`t.  
  
yet, try as he might, he couldn`t seem to convince himself.  
  
it was him. he knew that person all to well. he looked exactly like a  
  
mirror image, except that mirror images do not look down at you as  
  
pathetic. they remain reflections of your soul, and have no freedom to do  
  
as they pleased.  
  
this one did.  
  
his reflection was chuckling to itself again. he knew that laughter. he  
  
found it harder and harder to convince himself that all this was an  
  
illusion.  
  
it seemed too real to be produced only by his mind`s fancy.  
  
or so he thought.  
  
he tried once more to find his voice, but failed. his ability to speak  
  
failed  
  
him entirely.  
  
bojit seemed disappointed.  
  
`look at you, a poor pathetic figure. i guess you never knew it would  
  
come to this, did you?`  
  
pause.  
  
`i don`t blame you. neither did i. but, we`re in the same boat. we always  
  
were, and always will be. isn`t that amazing?`  
  
he found his voice. he was able to croak out something. he didn`t know  
  
how it came out.  
  
`what? i`m not real? reality is a terrible thing, bojit. it`s whatever we  
  
make it. whatever we think it to be.`  
  
`...`  
  
`poor little creature. you never knew what was going on, did you? never  
  
knew anything. always kept in the dark by the people you loved.` he  
  
laughed, a sinister sound. `still....it always was that way.`  
  
bojit shook his head in defiance. the voices were getting louder, but he  
  
ignored them.  
  
`...am not really here. this is just madness---`  
  
the voices seemed to rise in a cresendo. the babble made his head spin,  
  
and the world seemed less real.  
  
yet, the voice came through, loud and clear.  
  
`you are just talking to yourself, you know. you`re just alone, in  
  
whatever place you may be, muttering nothing to yourself. you`re  
  
pathetic.`  
  
bojit grappled with his thoughts. reality seemed but a dream to him now.  
  
was he even sane? no matter....he needed to take one more step. away  
  
from here...  
  
he staggered to his feet.  
  
`you`ll never get out that way, boy. you are trapped in a prison of your  
  
own creation. that wasn`t nice...`  
  
bojit had tried to stab the figure in front of him. the shard, his  
  
hand...the  
  
whole arm passed through it, with scarce a ripple to mark its passing.  
  
`...you`re...not...` he whispered.  
  
the figure seemed pleased by this. `you see? you are going mad. why  
  
don`t you just end it all? it would be so easy...`  
  
`...never..`  
  
bojit slowly turned away from his reflection--no! that was not his  
  
reflection. that was not his true self! he wasn`t mad, no he wasn`t...  
  
the lies sounded hollow, even in his own ears. the voices were laughing at  
  
him now. mocking him. it was him. even though...  
  
why not end it all? they whispered into his mind. everywhere,  
  
everyone...  
  
painful memories flooded his brain, bringing him again to his knees. he  
  
clutched at his head with both hands in an effort to drive away the pain.  
  
the pain of the memories...the memories...  
  
why not end it all?  
  
...of the times that he failed...of the time he that he lost that stupid tv  
  
quiz  
  
show...of the time he [expletive deleted: past tense] -up his life...of the  
  
time he was betrayed by the people whom he loved the most...  
  
why not end it all?  
  
...of the times his friends ignored him...of the times he would just shut up  
  
or laugh, never saying a word...of the time he had to leave the girl he  
  
loved the most behind...only to find out she did not care...the time that he  
  
heard that ''maybe we should just be friends''....  
  
why not end it all?  
  
the pain conquered him. he was aware of nothing but the pain, in his  
  
mind, his heart, his soul. the voices called to him---over and over  
  
again....  
  
why not end it all?  
  
he could think of nothing else...his mind was blank, feeling only the  
  
torment of pain...  
  
why  
  
not  
  
end  
  
it  
  
now .  
  
this time...he could not think of a reply. he had no reason not to.  
  
bojit raised the broken shard of glass to his lips---  
  
and kissed it.  
  
....  
  
.....  
  
bojit kissed the long shard of glass, savoring the metallic taste of his own  
  
blood. he ran his lips lightly along the sharp edge, feeling it bite into  
  
his  
  
skin. crimson stained his lips.  
  
this was pain. this was reality.  
  
it was beautiful beyond words.  
  
the eerie figure came up to him and put its hands on his shoulders. they  
  
felt real, solid. more real than he himself had ever felt before.  
  
`feels good doesn`t it? better than the misery you are in`  
  
the figure was whispering in his ear, tempting him. bojit found himself  
  
nodding. what it was saying seemed so right. it seemed so logical  
  
somehow.  
  
end it all...  
  
`all you have to do is drive it in...end your misery. won`t you?`  
  
bojit raised the shard to his eyes, and for the first time, noticed it had  
  
broken into two pieces. he admired the way they caught the moonlight,  
  
and was lost in contemplation.  
  
`that`s all you have to do. do it....think of yourself for a change.`  
  
blood stained the once-clear glass. he raised the shards to the sky, and  
  
saw the moon through them. it was a bloody moon. this way, you could  
  
almost think it was bleeding.  
  
it seemed to call to him. the voices were rising once again, wailing,  
  
gibbering, moaning for his blood. they became louder, and louder.  
  
deafening him with their babble.  
  
bojit blinked tears away. this was the only way to end it. this was the only  
  
way to atone for his acts. he lowered the shards slowly.  
  
he remembered when he thought he loved once. when he thought he was  
  
loved. when he thought that this love would last forever.  
  
he was wrong. now he knew betrayal. now he knew the bitter stain upon  
  
his soul. betrayed by his own delusions. betrayed by the one he had  
  
given his heart to.  
  
this was the only way.  
  
he raised the shards once more. he fought the tears that came with the  
  
bitter memories. abandoned and forgotten. that was his fate. the sharp  
  
edges seemed to him the most beautiful things he had known.  
  
he was so blind not to see it coming.  
  
the voices were clamoring now. the figure squeezed his schoulders hard.  
  
`do it---now!`  
  
bojit nodded. sometimes we have no choices. we do what we have to do.  
  
at whatever price, at whatever cost to ourselves.  
  
such is life.  
  
he was so blind to the world. the voices cried out louder. they filled his  
  
hearing, they flooded his mind. he was aware of nothing else.  
  
he drove the shards in. hard.  
  
the voices started laughing. the figure joined them. rich, deep laughter.  
  
the laughter of people who have found the lost one.  
  
he heard the giggling once more, and recognized it for what it was. the  
  
madness that was his own. he freely gave in, laughing cruelly, howling  
  
with wild abandon.  
  
how could he not? he was blind no longer.  
  
now he could see the truth.  
  
what was once bojit roared with laughter. there was no pain. there was  
  
only enlightenment.  
  
blood trickled like tears down his cheeks. he drew the shards out of his  
  
eyes. they dropped to the floor. with sightless eyes, he saw the beauty.  
  
the beauty of pain. the ecstacy of grief. the greatness of evil.  
  
he was blind no more.  
  
in this rash act, bojit did not lose his sight. he lost his soul.  
  
laughter echoed in the darkness. harsh, cold laughter at the world.  
  
boku wa shinimasen.  
  
....  
  
.....  
  
kathleen was troubled.  
  
the events that were swirling around the batch seemed too supernatural to  
  
be, well, natural. something big was going on, but she just couldn`t place  
  
her finger on it...  
  
especially that bit with paromin. what the hell? i mean, things like that  
  
didn`t happen in normal, everyday life.  
  
or did they?  
  
she was troubled. as a student of witchcraft and what the other, more  
  
skeptical people called `pseudo-sciences`, she knew that more happened  
  
everyday than what met the untrained eye. now if even this was seen by the  
  
common people, what more was hidden?  
  
she needed help on this.  
  
kat needed to summon a Nightmare.  
  
....  
  
lopao froze when the horrible sound suddenly broke through the darkness. he  
  
had still not escaped from this aspect of the nightmare. he thought the  
  
silence was the most disturbing thing about the darkness.  
  
until he heard the laughter.  
  
a disturbing parody of laughter. cold, and heartless. the very sound seemed  
  
evil. the sound was menacing, chilling his soul. he could not believe such a  
  
sound could be produced by a human throat. the darkness seemed to close in  
  
on him.  
  
he shuddered in fear.  
  
`god...help me....`  
  
he ran. away. anywhere but here was fine. he ran away from the sound. away  
  
from the horror.  
  
lopao ran.  
  
....  
  
gallo was frustrated. no matter how many times he tried, he couldn`t clear  
  
this boss of Metal Gear Solid 2. which was embarassing, since lesser player  
  
like bojit and his 8 year old brother had finished it on harder levels. no  
  
matter what level he played, what weapon he used....  
  
vamp would NOT die!  
  
once again, he watched the movie sequence play. he could almost say it by  
  
heart now, having seen it about a hundred times. he gripped the controller  
  
harder, preparing himself for the rush.  
  
the video was almost over now. adrenaline pumped through his veins in an  
  
almost pre-orgasmic tension. beating this bugger would be better than  
  
orgasm.  
  
once more he ran through the strategy.  
  
`[masamang salita binura] ka vamp, tingnan natin kung makakatakas ka sa  
  
stinger missiles ko ngayon.`  
  
over and over he repeated the mantra like a prayer. a chant to calm his  
  
nerves.  
  
and then, the video changed.  
  
.....  
  
wilson tan mopped at his sweaty face. he had just watched another episode of  
  
'la blue girls' which he borrowed from venson, and what happened wasn`t  
  
pretty. it was gruesome.  
  
he barked into the phone.  
  
`e [masamang salita binura] ka pala venson! sabi mo sa akin love hina yung  
  
pinahiram mo sa akin!`  
  
laughter.  
  
`ba`t di mo pinigil?`  
  
`alam mo naman ako, pag nakita ko yun, di na ako nakakagalaw.`  
  
`wushuu....nagustuhan mo e!`  
  
`for the last time, venson----`  
  
his sentence was interrupted by the busy tone. this was the last straw.  
  
`ano ba, kitang nasa telepono ako e!`  
  
stupid people. wilson replaced the phone on the cradle and stomped to his  
  
room. good thing nobody was there to see that act of childishness.  
  
he was going to his room and listen to `just wild beat` for the millionth  
  
time. then maybe go to sleep and look for electronics stuff on the net.  
  
anything to get his mind of the *shudder* monsters.  
  
he opened his room. `what the----`  
  
there are worse last words.  
  
.....  
  
lucifer morningstar watched the world impassively from his new york  
  
penthouse. since his favorite branch office at the WTC was destroyed, he`d  
  
been forced to move office. back to redmond.  
  
he sighed. since he given up Hell, people had gotten worse. as if he had  
  
anything to do with that. people chose what they did. they were responsible  
  
for their own actions.  
  
and as usual, they blamed him. he was sick of shit like that. he was just  
  
the easiest person to blame for their own faults.  
  
there was even this little sounds-like-witch-but-begins-with-a-b from this  
  
godforsaken school in the philippines who kept annoying him. lovely place,  
  
with great beaches. the people were just mostly stupid, trapped in an  
  
archiac catatonia by their fanatic religiousness.  
  
regularly she would send letters and offerings (they made him choke)  
  
praising him as her master. as if he had any servants in the past. though he  
  
had never deigned to employ any of them, mortals were too quick to proclaim  
  
him their master. like this one.  
  
oh well. it was amusing. he ignored her for the most part. she did have a  
  
portal to hell in her drawer. that was amusing. she was spawned from his old  
  
haunt after all.  
  
the buzzer sounded.  
  
`what?`  
  
`uhh, mister bill gates sir, an atty. john dee here to see you. i think she  
  
wants to talk about antitrust`  
  
bill gates sighed. oftentimes dealing with the businessmen and legislators  
  
was dirtier than dealing with demons.  
  
.....  
  
....  
  
voices.  
  
in a dark room, lighted only by the eerie yellow flame of a witching  
  
candle, two voices were arguing.  
  
`are you sure about this? i mean, we`ve never even done something  
  
close to this before.`  
  
`be quiet. i can`t concentrate.`  
  
`you do know if you make the tiniest mistake, it can go ahead and  
  
kill us.`  
  
`that`s why we won`t make any. be still and keep stirring.`  
  
-silence, except for the sloshing of the cauldron`s contents-  
  
`but---`  
  
`what is it now?`  
  
`nothing.`  
  
tinkling of glass. the plops of drops falling into the stirring  
  
liquid.  
  
and a mad cackling breaking the solemnity of the moment.  
  
-embarassed silence-  
  
`was that really necessary?`  
  
a third voice, which had up to now been silent, said sheepishly.  
  
`well, they do that in all the movies, and you can`t have proper  
  
witching without a cackle.`  
  
`we aren`t witches.`  
  
`but still. humph.`  
  
- slosh, slosh -  
  
a relieved sigh.  
  
`ok, that`s done with. now for the difficult part.`  
  
the three nodded to each other. this summoning would push their  
  
abilities beyond their limits. they knew the consequences of  
  
failure.  
  
`tea?`  
  
....  
  
ardee fiddled absently with a drinking straw. this summer job  
  
sucked. he had desperately been searching, even gone so far as to  
  
beg his batchmates on the yahoogroup for job openings.  
  
well, he had gotten one. the pay was good, there was little to do,  
  
but the job was boring . no one ever came to the shop. the only  
  
thing he liked about the job was the great fountain in front of ----  
  
. he loved to watch the people mill about it, going about their  
  
insignificant lives, while he rotted in this godforsaken shop.  
  
he would never forget what happened one boring saturday at work.  
  
the simple incident that followed would change his life forever. for  
  
better or for worse, he had no idea.  
  
it was up to him to decide his own future.  
  
....  
  
silverfish.  
  
these annoying little buggers were the nightmare of librarians. they  
  
hid in the dark, chewing off corners of old manuscripts,  
  
books...anything paper.  
  
this time, by accident or by design, they had chewed off nearly an  
  
entire page of Ye Olde Magick Gyde to Summonyngs of Dremes .  
  
three `witches` were stumped. how could they summon a nightmare from  
  
the gates of horn now?  
  
the most junior sighed in resignation.  
  
`well, i guess that`s that. no summonings now. we can`t summon the  
  
dream-eaters now.`  
  
-resigned silence-  
  
`what? we can`t get them now. the summoning chant is incomplete.`  
  
the senior witch shook her head defiantly.  
  
`no. we`ll just have to summon a different one.`  
  
...  
  
Doval Wrote:  
  
*****  
  
12:00 noon. June 17, 2002. First day of classes... well, for james  
  
at least and the other [new and old] ateneans. today, oddly and  
  
uncharacteristic of him, he was at pisay, 'visiting'. he thought it  
  
a bit odd... he hardly noticed time fly... he hardly remembered his  
  
summer...'cept for the time him and raph walked down  
  
the 'crypt'...naah. that one memory, that one, lone memory of his  
  
summer, he often dismissed it.  
  
the other night was a strange dream...he was at some metal-covered  
  
city... he was jumping from one platform to another...he had a  
  
strange glowing weapon he used to bash robots in his way as though  
  
the weapon were a baseball bat... and when he looked at the mirror,  
  
he was...a bald black dude...who looked like Samuel L. Jackson!  
  
woah. gotta stop thinking about the dream.  
  
"Ate Lyn!" he called. "o, james! nandiyan ka pala," she replied. the  
  
two talked, naturally with james hardly buying anything from her,  
  
him teasing her about 'who's been texting her'... just like old  
  
times.  
  
"walang taong ganoon." "huuu! loko mo ako...may nanliligaw diyan!  
  
eram nga ng phone." "yoko nga! kulit mo!"  
  
james stood straigh. he waved his left hand from right to left and  
  
said to her: "you will give me phone."  
  
"hah! no way" she said with a smile. "mag-isa ka diyang mag-inggles"  
  
James looked at her straight in the eye, and calmly replied to her  
  
retort: "You will give me the phone."  
  
she looked at him blankly. she handed him the phone, as though in a  
  
trance. All the while james was busy flipping through messages. hmm.  
  
he didn't know that pisay's neighborhood-friendly Coop lady was  
  
having a text correspondence with a guy named "mark".  
  
james walked away and said goodbye, not before he put her cell back  
  
in its place. he looked left and right. wow. familiar faces like  
  
Issa and annie of 04 and roi of 03 greeted him. yet he hid a strange  
  
secret he himself felt so compelled to keep.  
  
Shame he could hardly see raph anymore... he wanted to tell him  
  
truth... that He was... a jedi knight.  
  
he felt a disturbance...he froze, half-scared. he turned around.  
  
Could it be...?  
  
Julius was there.  
  
wow. relief. "Jul! Jul da Bull!" he called. the two greeted each  
  
other warmly, sat down to lunch, and talked, just like old times.  
  
James suddenly challenged julius to an arm wrestling match. "o  
  
jul... This Time You Will Not Win!"  
  
Julius seemed suspicious. why did james seem so confidnent? james  
  
never won against him, even if james trained or practiced, or used  
  
both arms against jul's one. why?  
  
they grappled. they both put everything. onlookers would've thought  
  
they might hurt themselves. but james... ah! he had a trick up his  
  
sleeve. james focued...he felt it...a new energy surging through his  
  
arm...and then...  
  
BLaG! james won. the two parted shortly after...  
  
James felt sorry he hadn't seen raph [who was busy during summer] in  
  
a while. he would've told him about it... the strange memories. then  
  
again, he'd say "siguro sobra ka nang nagbabasa ng Star Wars books"  
  
or even "hm...a past life maybe?"  
  
yet he knew different. he was there. he had that gift. the 'past  
  
life', as far-fetched it may be, seemed too nice...for he recalled  
  
memories of him walking around the Old Republic...being hunted by  
  
the traitor, Skywalker... growing his personal knowledge of the  
  
Sith... and how to defeat it. He escaped...and was brought here.  
  
Naaah! no way.  
  
but he still faced it...it was undeniable. he spent what was left of  
  
his techskills, ad-EL and tech res stuff and built a light saber. he  
  
spent days with his neighbors at the basketball court, manipulating  
  
the ball with the Force...  
  
where he learned these...he could not say.  
  
But he was there for a different reason... For he was a loose end to  
  
the Dark Side... one they wanted fixed soon...  
  
so they sent someone...  
  
his name...  
  
Vlad.  
  
-----------  
  
6:30 PM. 4th floor.  
  
the math unit was long deserted. the audi, music room, everything...  
  
they were thrown open.  
  
Vlad was kneeling in the middle of the audi. He was clad in dark  
  
cloth, much like what he wore for Batch 2000's pre-retreat skit...  
  
James walked in, his brown robes flowing cleanly.  
  
"i'm on to you vlad. They sent you."  
  
"hmmmm. you're good." he smiled. james stood tall. he drew his  
  
weapon, its light glowing green.  
  
"James, james..." vlad whipped out a metal cylinder, then a red beam  
  
came out, stopping about one meter away. "i'm glad you finally  
  
showed your colors...you were always good at hiding your real  
  
talents... but now... you die."  
  
and then...  
  
they did battle.  
  
Bojit wrote :  
  
charm YES! 2002  
  
//i lied about not adding to other people`s stories. i can`t believe  
  
you fell for that.  
  
//besides, paro won`t write. let`s play with this bastard.  
  
//if james beats vlad, lopao wakes up, do you know that?  
  
....  
  
after he received his fifth enema of the day, paro started to think  
  
of ways to get hell out of that hospital. he knew he had to go, and  
  
fast, when that `happy` doctor started talking about giving him  
  
cavity searches.  
  
and he knew he didn`t need those enemas.  
  
(at which the aforementioned doctor always seemed to be present---to  
  
ensure nothing happened to the patient, he said)  
  
once again he tried to recall the events that placed him there.  
  
nothing. his mind was a complete blank. it was if another paro had  
  
laid waste to the well-despised national seedling foundation (the  
  
official name of the Tapat).  
  
paro tried to summon his supposed powers, and failed again. this was  
  
crap.  
  
he surveyed his room. lopao was still asleep. paro had no idea that  
  
he could sleep that long. lopao was already approaching his eight  
  
hour sprawled out in the sofa. sir vlad had excused himself some  
  
time ago, pleading an important errand.  
  
paro kept wondering what the hell vlad was doing there in the first  
  
place.  
  
paro walked over to the window and surveyed the damage that he  
  
allegedly caused. the place did look better, without its hundreds of  
  
useless squatters living off the fat of the land.  
  
he sighed. he had to get out of here. but how can one break out of  
  
the Children`s Medical Center unnoticed?  
  
if only Megaman was here---  
  
paro dropped to his knees as a sudden pain shot through his entire  
  
body.  
  
he had no idea it was happening.  
  
again.  
  
....  
  
arguing. three voices, getting shrillier by the minute, were a sharp  
  
contrast to the bleakness of their surroundings.  
  
`ok, ok! you don`t have to rub it in!`  
  
`well if you placed Mordecai`s Vial of Tears on the left of  
  
Mordred`s Bottle of Farts instead of the right then this wouldn`t be  
  
necessary!`  
  
more arguing.  
  
`ok, where does Mortimer`s Jar of Snot go?`  
  
`look at the rate you two are arguing, we`ll never get this done!`  
  
`who asked your opinion?`  
  
but, in spite of the pessimistic one`s predication (and all the  
  
bitching and scratching---yes, there was scratching), the three were  
  
able to finish preparations for the summoning.  
  
kat wiped at her perspiring forehead, nearly knocking off the pointy  
  
witch`s hat she wore.  
  
`well, that`s that. we can start now.`  
  
stacey flopped down to the floor, beside a prone motch. they knew it  
  
hadn`t been a good idea to do this in the sweltering basement of ----  
  
`s house. however, they had no choice.  
  
kat was nonplussed.  
  
`are we going to continue this or not?`  
  
`we might as well.` stacey whined. `we better get this over with.`  
  
motch stirred.  
  
`ok then` she said, rising weakly to her feet `let`s do this.`  
  
stacey and motch rose, and walked to intricately elaborate (yosh)  
  
setup they had made.  
  
everyone knows that any Nightmare can be summoned with an ice cream  
  
and a coke (or a hamburger with onions) right before going to bed,  
  
but no proper witch would feel right if the summoning didn`t take  
  
place without hundreds of candles, chanting, and elaborate figures  
  
painted on the floor with a special potion.  
  
they took their places.  
  
nervously, they looked at each other. they had tried simple  
  
witching, but never something of this magnitude before. and one  
  
simple mistake could be their undoing.  
  
little did they know that they had already made three fatal errors.  
  
first, you cannot use the same setup of octagrams for every  
  
Nightmare and merely change the summoning chant. the chant calls the  
  
Nightmare, and the octagrams keep it in place.  
  
second, although some protection is better than none, you must not  
  
break the octagram by wiping some of it away, like kat`s long,  
  
swishing witching robes did.  
  
third, and most importantly, you do not summon this particular  
  
nightmare. it doesn`t give a [expletive deleted] about the rules.  
  
they began the Chanting...  
  
`nimo nimo nimorap gitsa...`  
  
....  
  
/* hehe...i`m still wondering if they summon a LA blue girls type of  
  
Nightmare (hentai fans, shut up: i`m not one of you) or something  
  
worse. they`re in deep [expletive deleted] and don`t know it.  
  
*/[/i]  
  
Doval wrote :  
  
*****  
  
12:30 pm. 4th floor.  
  
they paused.  
  
it was coming to a standstill...  
  
JAmes and Sir Vlad, both bleeding and suffering heavily...refused to  
  
surrender. the air started to smell different from the clashing of  
  
energy, wills, might, force, bone and sinew... and still they  
  
refused to give.  
  
"WHat is it with you?" Sir vlad demanded.  
  
James breathed relaxed...meditatively chanting a mantra in his  
  
subcoscious, clearing his mind... and replied to the Dark...  
  
a jedi will not know anger...  
  
"Either you are killed..."  
  
nor hate...  
  
"or i am killed..."  
  
nor fear....  
  
"it makes no difference."  
  
"Nor love"  
  
"What?" James was stunned. Vlad...james didn't see him move his  
  
lips, and yet... he spoke?!?! like...he could read his mind?!?!  
  
"GEt oUt of MY HeaD!"  
  
The two traded sword shots, parrying left, right. james jumped, vlad  
  
dodged to his left, delivered a kick that sent james sliding on his  
  
feet three feet farther. THen it was his turn to rush, james, deftly  
  
rolling to his right, waved his hands with the force, and sent vlad  
  
turning a half-axel spin in mid-air, and flying into the 4th floor  
  
windows. Vlad his the steel bars with a CLONG.  
  
he stood up...bleeding from the back of his head. he touched it with  
  
his middle finger... looked at the blood... and licked it.  
  
"do you REALLY think you have that power?"  
  
james was startled. What a question. "WHat are you talking about?!?"  
  
"you have to kill me... perhaps...but this isn't star wars ,  
  
boy... 'cause if I die...it'll be the darkness that grows in  
  
strength..."  
  
James scoffed at vlad's words. "What? you be one with the force?  
  
Maybe i'll see you in hell!" he screamed, as he jumped up, off the  
  
ceiling, and drove his weapon into...  
  
thin air...and a couple of empty robes...  
  
and James...felt a deep pain in his chest... THere was no wound, he  
  
inspected...yet it hurt like hell...  
  
Vlad stood triumphantly before him... and laughed...  
  
"you are nothing... i am no more real than the air you breathe."  
  
James stood up slowly, utterly confused. what are you talking  
  
about??? his mind wailed.  
  
"this world is but a false reality... a prison, where we, the Powers  
  
THat Be toy with fools like you... take a look." vlad waved his  
  
hands, and, using some psychic vampire energy, gathered a ball of  
  
energy that shot through and struck james to the floor.  
  
then, the world around him spun out of control. He saw Lopao hog-  
  
tied and naked in a room full of sex-starved trasvestites... Fritz  
  
hiding from the CS brats... Raph, now thin, frail and weak, starving  
  
in what looked like an ice prison... and Wilson... oh my god.  
  
"ever wondered why your close friends never seemed to be with you  
  
these past months? do you even remember these past months?" sir vlad  
  
taunted him, gleefully. "What about that 'past life' as  
  
a 'jedi'...Aren't they like some strange vision to you?"  
  
James could hardly believe his ears... how the hell did he know  
  
that!?!?  
  
"it's not really even June 17... oh, but it is! in this world at  
  
least...so HAPPY BIRTHDAY anyway...hahahhaa!" vlad kicked him at the  
  
chest. "should i kill you... or..."  
  
he light a match and lit a stick of incense... the smoke wafted...  
  
and revealed an image of his family...  
  
"maybe i should start there... yes... maybe that older sister of  
  
yours... Maureen, wasn't it? Yes, she'll do."  
  
"NO!" James focused...the force... was gone! THe power that kept him  
  
going for the past six hours was gone!!  
  
Vlad smiled and waved his device. "that's the right answer. and the  
  
wrong response. There was no new age mumbo-jumbo working for your  
  
side... nothing of that sorts exists." he walked closer, the once  
  
mighty frame of one of batch 02's finest, now a crumpled wreck. "but  
  
there is...sophisticated technology...in this little world." he took  
  
a slice, and deeply gashed James's left shoulder.  
  
Vlad laughed that frightening laugh his students remember him  
  
by. "Now the fun part... i told you this was an alternate world we  
  
use to toy with the likes of you... watch."  
  
Vlad focused...his body emmanated with a violet-colored glow. he  
  
took his lightsaber and started slashing at thin air. And there...  
  
...in the middle of the audi...  
  
...was a gash in space-time.  
  
he slashed some more. James started running. vlad kept cutting.  
  
james soon stopped...the slashes made lines in empty space, and  
  
james cut himself on those lines like garrote wire.  
  
"See this power?"  
  
James stood, trapped like a cornered fox. he had to focus...he had  
  
to...  
  
what the hell!?!??! why the jedi crap again??!? he was  
  
just...himself.  
  
against vlad. who seemed to have let him live with his little  
  
fantasy.  
  
"you can help us you know... serve us...help us destroy your kind...  
  
and you will live."  
  
"never."  
  
"Then die! Watch this world fade!" he slashed in thin air... There  
  
was a loud GRWAAIOOOOOOOOOURrrAshshsCsrshsrsaAAAAfAAAGGGGGGGHHHHH as  
  
a ripple in space-time broke and flowed from the weapon, much like a  
  
three-dimensional ripple in the waters of space, tearing it at the  
  
seams like a useless CAT class shirt...thread by thread it  
  
approached james...  
  
who stood injured, watching this alternate universe fall.  
  
Bojit Wrote :  
  
charm YES! 2002  
  
/*  
  
raph...  
  
are you telling me that what the kids are going through is just  
  
created by technology, not real?  
  
come on! anyhow, that was a good twist. although i`d rather have it  
  
that this was not just a technological creation/delusion, but a mix  
  
of the natural and the supernatural.  
  
like the witches, lopao, and corinthi---bojit, etc.  
  
lopao isn`t in `the room` anymore. he was last running away in the  
  
darkness.  
  
*/  
  
....  
  
ardee watched in surprise as a person pushed its way through the  
  
milling crowds. the person was all dressed in black, and was using  
  
enough force to be noticed by most everyone.  
  
he also was torn and bleeding. he looked awfully familiar, wasn`t  
  
that...?  
  
the person jumped into the clear waters of the fountain. the people  
  
screamed moved back.  
  
ardee watched in horror, ignoring the customer shoplifting a  
  
significant portion of his monthly quota.  
  
bit by bit, the crowd pressed on the fountain. they were murmuring  
  
in wonder.  
  
ignoring his employer`s orders, ardee walked out and joined the  
  
crowd. he pushed his way into the front of the crowd.  
  
the figure was nowhere to be seen.  
  
yet, that was not the creepiest thing about it.  
  
what scared him was that the waters had run red. not the red of  
  
waters catching the color of the sunset sky, but the deep crimson of  
  
blood.  
  
the water had turned into blood.  
  
....  
  
paromin was writhing in pain.  
  
he had not known that this was possible.  
  
`aaahhhh...`  
  
what the hell was happening to him?  
  
his vision blurred in and out, making it impossible for him to see.  
  
all he knew was the pain in his body.  
  
paro rolled up, clenched his body into a fetal position. he had no  
  
idea that bit by bit, the change was taking place again. if he knew  
  
that, he probably would have stopped fighting.  
  
`aaahh..the pain....lopao....`  
  
paro thrashed out in pain, knocking over beds, tables, appliances.  
  
he was unaware of it all, feeling only the pain all over his body.  
  
it seemed to burrow into him, eating at him, consuming his body...  
  
once more he cried out:  
  
`lopao!..for god`s sake...help...meeeee!!!!!`  
  
the pain would not stop. lopao would not stir.  
  
paromin was alone.  
  
....  
  
lopao was running.  
  
although the laughing had stopped a long time ago, the chill in the  
  
air still remained. a threat hung in the air, making him feel more  
  
afraid than he ever felt before. he was trying to flee from it.  
  
he paused, and tried to catch his breath. his bent over, hands on  
  
his knees and puked what little he had for dinner.  
  
`..urrrghhh....shit, bopiz looks like....uuughhhhh....`  
  
vomiting, and the splat of semi-digested food stuffs on the ground.  
  
lopao gasped for air, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.  
  
the world flickered.  
  
`what the---?`  
  
the world flickered once more....reality changed, shifted into  
  
something else....  
  
`--i`m not waking---`  
  
...and he was back in the dreaded room, hog-tied and naked in a room  
  
full of what he was certain were [he shuddered] sex-starved  
  
transvestites.  
  
`the nightmares can repeat? i can`t believe this...`  
  
his voice trailed off when he saw the, er, implements beside him.  
  
that`s when he noticed he was covered in what seemed to be...maple  
  
syrup?  
  
lopao stared in horror at the tools of trade on the table beside  
  
him. this seemed straight out of a gross guys-talking-about-  
  
kinkiness-talk with charm. he thought he recognized half of them.  
  
lopao feared discovering the uses of the other half.  
  
the door opened.  
  
`oh no, not again...`  
  
the figures sashayed towards him, and as before, he began a futile  
  
struggle to free himself from his bonds. and as before, he only  
  
succeeded in cutting the ropes into his flesh.  
  
the sex-starved transvestites were close now. lopao shook so  
  
violently, he fell off the bed.  
  
that`s when he saw the light.  
  
....  
  
charm YES! 2002  
  
/*  
  
contrary to whatever misimpressions you may hold, i wish no malice  
  
to the victim in one of the following stories. i sincerely hope that  
  
nothing even close to this horrifying act comes within twenty miles  
  
of his person.  
  
it just so happens that using him will make the story jucier. and he  
  
is such a natural victim.  
  
*/  
  
....  
  
rr was texting.  
  
normally, he would not have the balls to do this, but since the only  
  
obstacle between him and his quarry was exiled in an oriental  
  
country up north, he was free to do as he wished.  
  
now, if only globe would send this forward, he could `score` more  
  
`pogi points`.  
  
rr paced around his darkened room. so engrossed he was, he did not  
  
notice the shadows.  
  
they were getting longer, darker, more ominous. he failed to notice  
  
this until it was too late.  
  
`vulture.`  
  
the cellphone clattered to the floor. rr strained his eyes in the  
  
darkness to find the source of the voice.  
  
no such luck.  
  
`you are pathetic,` the hidden voice continued. `you circle around,  
  
waiting for the big guy to leave. you have no balls. you can`t move  
  
in until you thin it`s safe.`  
  
pause.  
  
`pathetic.`  
  
rr inched away, step by step. his hand fumbled for his letter  
  
opener. the voiced seemed so familiar...yet different from anything  
  
had ever heard before. he stammered in fear.  
  
`who-who are you? what do you want?`  
  
chuckling.  
  
there was no joy in that ominous sound. only contemptous malice. rr  
  
gripped on the shaft of the letter opener until his knuckles turned  
  
white. this had to be a dream. this wasn`t happening to him.  
  
`who am i? what do i want?`  
  
a figure clad in a high collared suit stepped out of the shadows.  
  
although the shadow hid most of its face, rr thought he recognized  
  
the person.  
  
no way! that person was safely exiled in that country! how could he  
  
come back?  
  
`i am the last Nightmare you will ever see.`  
  
the figure broke out in an evil smile.  
  
`and all i want is---your life.`  
  
....  
  
ardee could only stare in horror at the nearly overflowing blood in  
  
the fountain. so transfixed he was by the sight, that he failed to  
  
notice that he was the only person in the area.  
  
the other, more intelligent (they would avoid a similar fate) people  
  
had fled in horror.  
  
the blood was now dripping over the edge. this was unbelievable.  
  
ignoring all of his good sense, ardee inched closer.  
  
and closer.  
  
he was only a foot away when the statue on top fell, creating a huge  
  
splash.  
  
`aaarrrghhhh...`  
  
ardee`s hands went automatically to his face, but he was too slow.  
  
blood splattered on his face, getting into his eyes.  
  
`owwww!`  
  
the blood stang, pain shot through his eyes. he doubled over, and  
  
tried to wipe it away. he scrubbed at his eyes until he saw blinking  
  
lights. anything to get it out of his eyes. he staggered away from  
  
the bleeding fountain.  
  
in his moment of blindness, ardee failed to see what would be called  
  
a miracle.  
  
the waters had become clear again.  
  
....  
  
rr stared in horror at the spectre in front of him. he couldn`t  
  
accept it. that he , of all people, would come back to haunt him.  
  
summoning up what little courage he (ever) had, he tried to bluff.  
  
`you can`t do anything.`  
  
a smirk from the figure.  
  
`and why not?`  
  
`because we`re in my house, that`s why. because i`ll just scream.  
  
because---`  
  
`what makes you think we`re in your house?`  
  
for the first time, rr looked at his surroundings. this definitely  
  
wasn`t his room. it seemed more like a dungeon. no, a---  
  
torture chamber.  
  
devoid of all hope, and filled with desperation, rr rushed his  
  
adversary, letter opener raised. instead of moving away, or trying  
  
to defend itself, the figure seemed to welcome the attack. the  
  
letter opener sank, deep into its chest.  
  
the figure only smiled horribly and rr knew that something was  
  
terribly wrong. he twisted the letter opener, and tried to drive it  
  
deeper.  
  
a bigger parody of a smile.  
  
`go ahead.` it whispered, clearly enjoying his confusion. `why don`t  
  
you take it out?`  
  
rr complied numbly, and stared in shock at the blade. there was no  
  
blood. his gaze turned back to the figure. there was no evidence  
  
that it had been attacked. no wound, no tear, no nothing.  
  
`you see, dear boy, i am not alive.` it struck with lightning speed.  
  
something hard hit with great force at the base of his skull. rr  
  
felt something crack, and fell to the floor.  
  
he was paralyzed from the neck down. paralyzed, but aware of  
  
everything. he was sure he would feel pain.  
  
the figure sat on his heels, and raised him to a sitting position.  
  
he saw that it held a switchblade in its hand. the blade,  
  
thankfully, was not drawn.  
  
yet.  
  
`you see, rr, all religions say we all pay the price for the  
  
mistakes we make, when we die.`  
  
the blade flicked out. light ran along its edge.  
  
`they speak of eternal damnation, pain and all that. but have you  
  
ever wondered if the soul can feel as much pain as the body?`  
  
rr blubbering in horror, begging for mercy.  
  
`anyway, consider this an early payment. we`ll start with your  
  
eyes.`  
  
the blade closed in.  
  
rr began screaming before the pain began.  
  
....  
  
in the darkness of ----`s basement, three young women were playing  
  
witch.  
  
they were not real witches, although they tried (maybe too) hard to  
  
appear like the real thing. but, however they may have looked, what  
  
they were doing was something only the most foolhardy (and  
  
inexperienced) witches would attempt to do.  
  
which, explains that the main qualities of most living witches were  
  
1) cautious; and 2) experienced.  
  
kat, motch and stacey were executing an ancient ceremony, which had  
  
not been done in centuries (mainly because of the stories of what  
  
happened to the last people who attempted it).  
  
their chanting was the only sound that could be heard in the  
  
basement.  
  
(note: the following chant has been loosely translated from its  
  
original gaelic verse. it does sound better in the original.)  
  
`from the darkness of the mind, we call you. the dream that you are  
  
bound to. from the mind to reality.`  
  
the three`s entire concentration was fixed on the task beforehand.  
  
any slip, and their minds would be completely erased.  
  
they did not notice the sudden wind that swept the room. the three  
  
black cats that they had brought fled the room.  
  
`you are bound by us. bound by your creator, bound by your  
  
existence.`  
  
the flames on the candles turned a sickly yellow color.  
  
`we summon you!`  
  
`Corinthian!`  
  
.....  
  
bojit doubled over in pain. he had not felt this before, this power  
  
that was greater than he...yet it was too familiar...  
  
his mind was a rage of conflicting thoughts.  
  
no! this could not be! who dares summon me at this time? they shall  
  
pay!  
  
summoning me? wait? i`m bojit!  
  
his mind went blank with sudden hatred. he remembered what he had  
  
done to the last people to attempt this, all those centuries ago.  
  
these foolhardy people would suffer a fate that would horrify the  
  
world for centuries.  
  
centuries? i`m seventeen! i can`t remember something that happened  
  
before i was born!  
  
yet he could not deny that the memories belonged to him. he could  
  
almost relive the moment, enjoying the final screams of agony from  
  
his victims.  
  
he shuddered at the relishment he had at the thought.  
  
`what`s happening to me?` he cried to no one in particular. bojit`s  
  
body was clenched tightly as the pain hit once more. it was pulling  
  
him, forcing him to some other place.  
  
bojit cried out in agony. this was too much...he could fight no  
  
longer---  
  
`no! not yet! i am not yet fini---`  
  
the blood-stained switchblade clattered to the floor.  
  
.....  
  
a month later, authorities found a rotting corpse inside the dark  
  
basement of the abandoned ozone disco. they were alerted by the foul  
  
smell passers-by had been noticing as of late.  
  
the corpse, which belonged to an unidetified male, was horribly  
  
mutilated. it had been half-flayed, and disfigured beyond  
  
recognition. cross-checking with the `missing persons` department  
  
failed to produce a match.  
  
in the media circus which then followed, coroners released a  
  
shocking report.  
  
Dr. Alan Bulario, Coroner:  
  
`the cutting of the hands and feet from the lashings show that the  
  
victim had been bound for at least three weeks.`  
  
pause, and the click-whirr of cameras.  
  
`however, interestingly enough, the victim expired only three days  
  
ago.`  
  
excitement, and the doctor had to shout to make himself heard over  
  
the flurry of questions that followed.  
  
`it is doubtful the victim died from bleeding, or from the ants that  
  
began devouring him alive. the murderer made quite sure that the  
  
victim wouldn`t die quickly.`  
  
`we have no leads, or clues. it is interesting to note that the  
  
victims eyes, which were presumably gouged out by the perpetrator,  
  
were nowhere to be found.`  
  
`this removal of eyeballs is not dissimilar to the fate of at least  
  
three cases i am aware about.`  
  
`ladies and gentlemen, we have a serial killer in our midst, it is  
  
advised that---`  
  
the esteemed doctor`s words of wisdom were abruptly cut off, as the  
  
TV screen went blank.  
  
.....  
  
Doval Wrote :  
  
++++++++++++  
  
Two white, fluffy creatures looked at the frail thin frame of a  
  
man...  
  
"Why can't we help him, kupo?"  
  
"not yet... we need word from Stiltzkin. He should be telling us  
  
when the dark maid shifts her attention..."  
  
"why?"  
  
"'coz Mog's busy. he could've done the fighting but i think he's  
  
hospitalized...broke his right foot from dancing, maybe..."  
  
"ok."  
  
.........  
  
[bows down]"My queen..."  
  
"ah good day my lackey! I'm glade you're here."  
  
"uh...my queen..."  
  
"i'm so glad i managed to find a way to fold space to trap this  
  
boy...look at the screen! he's so thin and frail! starving in a  
  
place he would've gladly called heaven! dying so slowly! hhahahaha!"  
  
[still bowing]"a..a...my queen..."  
  
"...pity vlad was too reckless. oh well. i could always create a new  
  
portal for both of them. Araneta's too useful. he knows lots of  
  
secrets... especially of this fat one... oops... i guess not  
  
anymore..."  
  
[bowing]"my queen!"  
  
"...did i ever tell you how that Doval was back in '99? the nerve of  
  
that boy! how arrogant! i wish i were there to make him regret every  
  
thing he wrote about me! so...oooh!"  
  
[stands up] "sigh..."  
  
"HEY! why did you stand up!? did i allow you?"  
  
[clearly wants to say something] "but..."  
  
[cracks whip several times]  
  
"Aaah! aaah! no! stop!"  
  
"that'll teach you. now hurry! the clone of Ramirez is almost  
  
complete!"  
  
"but my queen!"  
  
"WHAT!!"  
  
"the prisoners! They've escaped!"  
  
"You Stupid fool!!!! which ones?!?"  
  
[points to a monitor. true enough, girls aren't there]  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" [runs out.]  
  
..........  
  
Fritz listened...  
  
Kiel: nasaan na yon?!  
  
Noel: ewan ko... Morales! sabi nandito sya!  
  
Morales: e, tong si Kiel kasi ang pangit ng diskarte! pa-snipe-snipe  
  
pa diyan, di pa tinamaan! tumakbo tuloy!  
  
Kiel: di nyo naman mahabol...  
  
Harold: e ikaw kasi ang yabang sa sniping, wala naman kwenta.  
  
Kiel: AnONg WalanG KwEntA?! [kicks corpse] kita mo 'to! ako pumatay  
  
diyan!  
  
Noel: Kiel...anybody can snipe Costales...  
  
Morales: yeah. lalo na kasi he's a fat mother[xensord].  
  
Jaycris: uy, wala pa ba yun? yung huli?  
  
Noel: e malay... basta wala sa ibang kwarto di ba?  
  
Tactay: [enters room] wala. katitingin ko lang kanina...Kiel kasi  
  
ambading! dapat pinatay mo na!  
  
Kiel: gago.  
  
Tactay: e, p[xensord]na, kung a-arctic mo yung tao, isang tira lang  
  
kailangan! patay na dapat yon! e abang ka nang abang sa kanto, ayaw  
  
mo pang habulin!  
  
Noel: o, tama na yan! hayaan muna natin yung ka-boblax ni kiel.  
  
Morales: oo nga! nandito lang yon... i can feel it!  
  
Fritz listened...  
  
he loaded his gun.  
  
time to go.  
  
---- Side Comment by Paromin ----  
  
Teka lang bakit naging skit ito... oh well... weird...  
  
back to the story  
  
---- Side Comment by Paromin ----  
  
--------  
  
the snow seethed cold.  
  
it was time...  
  
-----------  
  
a blinding flash...  
  
shoes shuffling...  
  
combat boots hitting the stone.  
  
a quick figure pops out of a corner...  
  
he fires his AK-47u...  
  
he can barely see...  
  
the magntude of his act dissolved like salt on a rainy day...  
  
it'll soon be over...  
  
--------------  
  
brrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish....  
  
Paromin opened his eyes, uncurled a hand. He hardly recognized his  
  
own appendages...  
  
he saw his skin matte out in steel...  
  
he felt his eyes grow sharp...  
  
his wailing screams...they were silenced as he noticed he felt only  
  
more pain, agravated by his throat, now tired of calling lopao  
  
out...  
  
he finally saw it with his own eyes...  
  
PAromin X.  
  
-----------------  
  
the stench is one so few people can understand. Why it only lingered  
  
around this side of the street and barely wafted anywhere else was a  
  
mystery.  
  
A dark shadow of a figure stood before a gathered crowd. If it were  
  
like Black Hawk Down, they'd make an excellent mob. In fact, that's  
  
what they were...  
  
and the shadow opened its hand... a glowing purple ball revealed  
  
itself. It glowed beautifully, illuminating their ignorant eyes,  
  
swirling lights like fireflies glittered and flitted inside...  
  
"I offer this to you only once," spoke a deep, dark, mysterious  
  
voice. "take it...and with it...YOur ReVenge!"  
  
Revenge... a word their feeble vocabularies wouldn't have  
  
understood, but somehow... If we listened there, if we were right  
  
there, whether we spoke best in Japanese, Tagalog, Gaelic or  
  
whatever... we'd get what it meant...  
  
and they, their minds invaded now... saw the image of the one they  
  
wanted...  
  
PAromin...  
  
the place was just right there at the corner of Quezon Ave and  
  
Agham...  
  
revenge...  
  
they wanted to get back at their homelessness, the fates they were  
  
driven to... the lives lost...  
  
REVENGE!  
  
the orb glowed... it swirled, as the masked, dark ninja skinked  
  
away...  
  
the tapat looked different...so did the people... a purple glow  
  
flashed from their eyes... their bodies.... it was  
  
otherworldly...they grew in power, in strength... in hatred...  
  
and yes...  
  
they were there... "united as one" they spoke telepathically...  
  
they marched to the hospital.  
  
Paromin finally! wrote:  
  
Ok so yung post ko napunta dito... oh well... I can't make it 7PM  
  
anymore pero I don't know what other early afternoon telenovelas  
  
there are... So if anyone has suggestions on what Telenovela I  
  
should put go ahead... Pakisabi na rin yun lyrics ng intro at time  
  
slot... thanks  
  
***  
  
It was 7PM at Room 307 at the [name of hospital. A strange patient  
  
had been admitted to that room. Something about cybernetics and  
  
stuff. As if she'd understand. Nurse Joy Lopez (Ok so I can't think  
  
of a nice name). decided to check in on the patient. She could hear  
  
the TV was blaring out loud. The opening credits of Mari-Mar started  
  
to roll.  
  
Well at least this patient had good taste. Maybe she'll have a chat  
  
about her favourite telenovela. After socializing with the patient's  
  
with good. She hummed it's themesong as she approached the door.  
  
***  
  
The TV screen was showing another of those damned telenovelas...  
  
that fact didn't bother the mechanoid standing in the center of the  
  
room. He had other matters on his mind, other more serious matters.  
  
He felt different, as if he was brimming with energy. The change  
  
came slowly, parts of him felt as if humming with renewed  
  
strength... in fact more strength than before. It was a refreshing  
  
change.  
  
"Costa nita sol..."  
  
Paromin headed to the nearest mirror and looked at his  
  
reflection. "So this..." He shifted his eyes up and down "is why I'm  
  
here. Yet I recall nothing of the past few days." He walked towards  
  
the door. Locked. "Hmph. Do those fools think I can be kept here?"  
  
His gaze stoppped on his arm. A question plagued his head, he had to  
  
find out. He could feel streams of energy coming from it, calling  
  
out for him to release it.  
  
"More lyrics from Mari-Mar"  
  
He submitted to the cries from the tiny wisps of power and watched  
  
amazed as his hand retracted and revealed a barrel. Paromin  
  
smiled. "Just like X..." Recalling a character from Megaman X "This  
  
must be a plasma cannon" His gaze sped again towards the locked  
  
door. He raised his arm cannon, and dropped it. "No... that'll just  
  
draw unwanted attention." The energy called once again. Excitement  
  
rushed through his cybernetic core "Yet I badly want to see how much  
  
power I have..."  
  
"Another set of lyrics from the Mari-Mar theme song"  
  
"Hmmm, where should I test this?" He gazed back at the sleeping form  
  
of the unsuspecting Lopao. He stared back and forth from his arm  
  
cannon and his old classmate. Paromin sighed, a blast this strong  
  
would kill Lopao. "Darn, and I wanted to test it so much."  
  
"And another set of lyrics"  
  
"WHAT IS THAT INFERNAL RACKET???" Paromin hissed. He looked towards  
  
the tv, "Why if it isn't that ever so annoying soap opera."  
  
The image of Thalia appeared on the screen. "Another set"  
  
"Why would she look much... much... bettterrr with a hole in her  
  
head" Relishing in the thought he brought up the cannon and aimed  
  
straight at the annoying TV box. "Ah yes... just like a plasma  
  
cannon... like X... and if I guess it right" Energy collected in the  
  
crystal at the nozzle of his arm cannon. "It should--" He took  
  
careful aim. He stopped short, "CARFUL AIMING", the thought of it  
  
was hilarious. With this new power who cares if I miss. He laughed  
  
and released a stream of power.  
  
"MARI-MA---" The explosion shook the whole room, the screen where  
  
Thalia's face had been broadcasted on was now in a pile of rubble  
  
along with the rest of the unit.  
  
"Ahhh that felt good." Paromin laughed like a maniac. "All this  
  
power brimming from head to toe!"  
  
*snork*  
  
"Whoops! Forgot about him!" He looked again toward Lopao. "Well  
  
looks like he's still asleep." He slapped Lopao "Hey you! wake up"  
  
*snork*  
  
"Well someone can sure sleep peacefully." Paromin lifted Lopao by  
  
the arm. "Hey... you... wake up." Paromin grimaced as Lopao's eyes  
  
stayed firmly shut. "Life scans are normal... he's alive as the next  
  
person. However" Eyeing Lopao once again "I'd better play it safe,  
  
musn't let anyone witness who... or what I've become." Paromin  
  
looked around and spied a wardrobe. Perfect.  
  
*snork*  
  
"Just incase you wake up and start calling for help. Can't have any  
  
pesty people running after me that soon." Paromin pulled open the  
  
door of one of the closets in the room and stuffed the sleeping form  
  
in. "Hope you don't have claustrophobia... oh well can't help it" He  
  
shut the door and grabbed some metal railing from the bed and sealed  
  
the hinges of the closet. "That should take care of you."  
  
*Click*  
  
The mechanoid spun around alarmed. "Hmmm?" Paromin's cybernetic  
  
brain quickly analyzed and formulated a series of answers for him.  
  
After a microsecond it presented him with the best answer based on  
  
the current environment and settings. "Ah so short of a bomb timer  
  
it merely was a sound of the doorknob beginning to open." Paromin  
  
finished analyzing it and formulated a plan. He took himself on the  
  
mirror again. No one should know about this... yet....  
  
***  
  
"Ah excuse me ho" Nurse Lopez said routinely with years of nursing  
  
under her wing "May kailangan o ka--" The scene wasn't what those  
  
years of experience prepared her for. The room was in shambles. The  
  
tv lay in a smoking pile. She began to scream.  
  
***  
  
"No no no you can't scream missy." Paromin got up from behind the  
  
open door and grabbed the nurse. He then calculated the required  
  
energy to stun the intruder but not kill her. "Not enough to kill  
  
you but enough to knock you dead anyway." His cannon charged up and  
  
fired.  
  
The body slumped down from his arms and lay sprawled on the  
  
floor. "Time to cover up my tracks" He hefted the body with one hand  
  
and flung it to one corner of the room. "Perfect... just like a bomb  
  
scene. We even have a body in the closet... not a skeleton but it'll  
  
do." His mind told him that there was an 87% chance that people will  
  
find out that it wasn't. Especially with two live bodies here to  
  
tell the story. Yet, by that time he'd be long gone. Casting one  
  
last glance at the room he sped off to the window to make his  
  
escape. "Hmph too eas--" The window burst into shrapnels of sharp  
  
glass. A split second later Paromin found himself on the  
  
ground. "What the?" Paromin recovered his footing. He quickly  
  
ordered a through scan of his systems. No damage, obviously. A  
  
little shaken perhaps but unhurt. He steadied himself and started  
  
looking around for any clue as to what happened. His sensors focused  
  
on a single object. It was a bullet. Somebody either intently or  
  
accidently shot him. Who did it? Was it on purpose?  
  
A stream of gunfire shattered the remaining windows in the room. In  
  
the blizzard of bullet casings and glass fragments Paromin smiled.  
  
Looks like it was on purpose. Energy inside him responded to his  
  
excitement and collected into his arm cannon. It was a perfect  
  
oppurtunity to test these new powers of his on a living, breathing  
  
opponent. He patted the weapon. "Why don't we find out who it was."  
  
***  
  
---- Side Comment by Paromin ----  
  
Well let's see I blew up their houses then I blow them up... oh well  
  
life's like that... Ikuzo Zero!!! oh well he's not there I'll just  
  
have to handle this on my own  
  
---- Side Comment by Paromin ----  
  
Riisha wrote : -  
  
--SC by Paromin---  
  
I'm with you bojit sino ba si riisha?  
  
--SC by Paromin---  
  
OH WOW! i should teach myself not to ignore the batch story anymore!  
  
it' gotten a lot more people and a lort odder, kind of  
  
cooler ......... O.O what happened to the glass-eaters?! ehehe  
  
****  
  
"I STILL can't believe we got out of there ..."  
  
"Who'd have thought that the creek had a place like that under it?"  
  
"How long have we been down there?"  
  
"No clue ..."  
  
They all stayed quiet after then, because none of them knew for sure  
  
how they got out of that small cell. They had taken Joven out of the  
  
cell again. Then they threw him back in, some time later. In a  
  
matter of seconds, the guard who had thrown Joven in was suddenly  
  
unconscious. Joven was also out. The girls took the opportunity to  
  
run, even though they all felt a bit lightheaded.  
  
The four girls were trodding as noiselessly as they could across the  
  
small bridge toward the seemingly deserted humanities building. It  
  
was too dark to see anything. Though, it COULDN'T be night time. Or  
  
could it?  
  
"Ba't ang dilim?"  
  
"Guys, I'm getting a bad feeling about this ..."  
  
Suddenly one of the girls stopped. They turned. "Oi? Les ... Bakit?"  
  
Leslie was a bit pale, "N-nothing. It's just ... i saw ... lopao ...  
  
and james ... and fritz ... and bojit ... and a whole lot of other  
  
people ... I-i don't understand what's happening to them ... but i  
  
know they're all in some kind of trouble ..."  
  
They all stared at her for a while.  
  
Felizia stepped up to put a hand on her forehead, "Are you okay?"  
  
"N-not really ... guys ... let's just get out of here."  
  
"AGREED." Rhea and Krissy nodded.  
  
They trodded onward, not aware of what had happened to them. They  
  
continued to the front lobby, hoping to get out of the school.  
  
They paused and gasped of the sight.  
  
****  
  
Meaning, they saw paro and the squatter army ... PLEASE don't  
  
continue this thread (including paromega X whatever ), until i have  
  
some clue what kinds of powers these girls suddenly cooked up.  
  
(Unless someone out there has an idea of what powers to do, but  
  
confer with me first?)  
  
Bojit wrote :  
  
charm YES! 2002  
  
/* riisha (although i don`t really know you), as the japanese say:  
  
Gambatte!  
  
you can get it if you read it over....  
  
and over...  
  
over...  
  
*/  
  
.....  
  
chaos reigned in the candle-light basement of ----`s house.  
  
three young women were attempting a very dangerous act. an act of  
  
rashness, that could very well be their last.  
  
`out of the darkness that binds...`  
  
in response to the great power summoned by the three, the jars in  
  
the room shattered in rapid succession. their contents spilled on  
  
the floor.  
  
`..into the light that holds us all...`  
  
ironically, it was at this point the sickly flames sputtered and  
  
died. a deceptively sweet scent filled the room, as smoke found its  
  
way to all corners. the fog obscured everything.  
  
`...we summon you! be at our command---`  
  
the space inside the octagram seemed to twist. reality thinned at  
  
that point, as the Nightmare was summoned.  
  
`---you are called here to bear witness---`  
  
the scream of the ripped fabric of reality resounded through the  
  
worlds beyond. a slit in the air could be seen, and through the  
  
slit, were endless visions of the stars.  
  
`---to the power of the sisterhood. arise Nightmare, we name thee---  
  
`  
  
the slit became wider. something seemed to be coming through---  
  
`---Corinthian!`  
  
the hapless form of a man came through the slit. the man landed in  
  
the middle of the octagram, and lay dreadfully still.  
  
meanwhile, the three had dropped to their knees, sweating and  
  
exhausted from their exertions. summoning took a lot of physical, as  
  
well as mental strength. it was like wrestling the Nightmare, or  
  
soul, or whatever to come to this plane of reality.  
  
yet, joy suffused their hearts. they were giddy with joy at what  
  
they had done. they were able to summon the Nightmare.  
  
poor fools.  
  
motch was the first to catch her breath.  
  
`ok...` she said between deep gasps. `what now?`  
  
kat surveyed the wreckage of the room from her vantage point (flat  
  
on the floor), and sighed.  
  
`well, we might as well start cleaning up.`  
  
a collective groan from the three. reality came crashing down on  
  
them, bringing them back to earth.  
  
stacey interrupted their moment of self-pity.  
  
`what about...you know....him?` she asked, with a feeble gesture  
  
towards the prone figure.  
  
kat consulted the books that were scattered beside her.  
  
`we-ell, it says here that he should be knocked out for at least  
  
three hours or so. just enough time to get this cleaned up.`  
  
they rose to their feet, painfully, and began cleaning.  
  
....  
  
Doval wrote :  
  
james watched the dimension rift tear open.  
  
his mind was in disarray. not real? what was going on? before him,  
  
he would've sworn a giant pirahna was eating existence at its purest  
  
form right before him. little things started to vanish as the  
  
dimension tear widened, closing in...  
  
sir vlad stood there laughing. "this...this is the fate you have  
  
chosen! i only hope God is not too swift with your judgement beyond  
  
your death!"  
  
james stood up slowly. he straightened up, the tear approaching  
  
him...he concentrated hard...  
  
"there is no new age mumbo-jumbo..."  
  
the words echoed  
  
"i am no more real..."  
  
vlad's words...  
  
"serve us..."  
  
the only clues he had...  
  
"we use to toy with..."  
  
to what was happening...  
  
"ever wonder why your friends were never there...?"  
  
"mhmahaamhahahaha!"  
  
"this world is a false reality... a prison..."  
  
"did you REALLY think you had that power?!?!"  
  
"nor love..."  
  
"fools like you..."  
  
"james..."  
  
"hahahaha...!"  
  
James yelled.  
  
THat did it.  
  
then...  
  
he felt something... something inside, like a torch set ablaze... a  
  
newfound power...  
  
He knew it...  
  
he stared at vlad.  
  
at the dimensional rift..  
  
he was afraid no longer...  
  
he stared at the rift...  
  
he jumped in.  
  
"no!" vlad yelled, as he watched james descend into the bright light  
  
collapsing into darkness, a swirl of color and noise, a whirlpool of  
  
pure destruction that wrecked the temporal plane they stood on...  
  
he watched him stand there...  
  
and vlad...  
  
dissipated, like the false shadow he was.  
  
----------  
  
12:42 PM  
  
Underground Lab 8  
  
"aaarh!"  
  
Sir Vlad felt a deep pain in his head. "I lost him!" He removed the  
  
pods from his forehead, implanted there to throw his consciousness  
  
into the nether plane like planned. "Araneta's escaped!"  
  
The queen of the damn damned walked slowly...  
  
she let out her whip on the SocSci 4 teacher... hard.  
  
Vlad cringed from the lashing. THe pain... it was a mild one,  
  
compared to what that boy did. His mind grew more powerful, as the  
  
pain cut into the inner recesses of his mind's capacity. The wicked  
  
witch went on, lashing, babbling something again. He didn't give a  
  
damn. Stupid bitch. She could drone on for days and still not get it  
  
done herself anyway... But that didn't matter now... no...  
  
He wanted back on that stupid kid. He was more that upset,  
  
unsettled, disturbed by what happend. Imagine yourself in a dream,  
  
where your 'death' there manifested not in parts of your body, but  
  
in parts of your sanity...your mind... It was more than a stupid  
  
headache that a few Advils, Tylenols or Biogesics could cure.  
  
HE wanted back. He'd get back at him... He'd look for him.  
  
He knew James was still alive... HE could smell his psychic  
  
force...breathing.  
  
I'll find you... I promise...  
  
Paromin wrote  
  
---SC by Paromin---  
  
Sino yun nasa hourly report sa GMA 7? Gusto ko malaman...  
  
---SC by Paromin---  
  
She hissed... failure didn't agree with her. Or rather she didn't  
  
agree with failure. Not only did the one who had been infected  
  
escaped but now her psycho-watchamacallit-vampire was sleeping on  
  
the job. Oh they'll learn to go against her wishes... they'll learn  
  
soon enough.  
  
"Uhhh... doctora..."  
  
She whirled around towards the newcomer. Another one of her lackeys,  
  
cringing in his shoes? He brings bad news no doubt. Perhaps breaking  
  
the man's neck will soothe her anger.  
  
"Kasi..." The underling stumbled over his words.  
  
She closed in on him and gripped him by the neck. She exerted enough  
  
pressure to deliver the most pain without knocking the man  
  
out. "Done clearing your throat?" The pawn nodded and she released  
  
her grip. She enjoyed watching his look of pain. She sighed to  
  
herself, she'll just kill him anyway later... slowly....  
  
"I...i... t...think y...you shou...ld watch th..the news..."  
  
"What do I care about some stupid news broadcast?" She bared her  
  
teeth "Kittens in trees do not concern me. Now tell me..." Her eyes  
  
flared up, burning deep into the man's soul "What should I know?"  
  
The underling stared mutely,trembling in his boots. Ahh, she  
  
thought, I broke his mind with fear. "Very well then..." She turned  
  
towards the television set and switched it on.  
  
The face of Jesicca Soho appeared on the screen, several explosions  
  
and gunfire were heard in the background "...for news tonight, at  
  
the [name of hospital... di ko alam... nakakatamad hanapin] a group  
  
of... uhh... squatters in Agham Road is currently attacking the said  
  
hospital. Reports say that their homes were previously destroyed in  
  
an incident early this week. As to how it connects to their rampage  
  
on [name of hospital] is yet unclear. " Another explosion rocked the  
  
camera "And it seems that a one-man army is driving away this angry  
  
mob of people. Thought we cannot get a focus on this person, he  
  
seems to have immobilized a number of the offensive squatters. Now  
  
back to you [yes.... sino ba yung nasa hourly report ng GMA?]."  
  
"Thank you Jesicca and to other---" The TV set went up in flames.  
  
I thought Paromin had been taken care off! Another fool in her  
  
employ botched the job up. She hissed, anger built up insade her.  
  
She turned to the messenger "I want you to tell--"  
  
"Yes...ma'am..." The lackey returned only a frozen stare. "Yes...  
  
ma'am"  
  
She cursed, his soul had been crushed along with his mind. He is  
  
nothing more than a vegetable now.  
  
"Yes...ma'am..." Empty eyes looked up at her. "Yes..."  
  
"OH SHUT YOUR PIEHOLE!" Must she always be surrounded by imbeciles?  
  
She grabbed him by the head and flung him out the window, shattering  
  
it in the process. A storm of glass shards entered as the wind blew  
  
them back into the room. A tiny piece of glass hit her shoulder. And  
  
another and another. She ignored them, anger built up inside her,  
  
the demon scales seethed up and down in reply.  
  
*THUD*  
  
Failure did not agree with her.  
  
-To be cont.-  
  
And that's where it ends... I probably will kill a few squatters in  
  
this battle I'm terribly suspicious of that orb thingy... Oh well  
  
I'll just make sure I live through this and still retain my X  
  
powers... no way I'm letting those go... hahahahaha demonic  
  
laughter... hhahahahaha  
  
There will be some missing parts... Kay doval yun... in fanfic terms it's called Lemon (It's not bastos, it's just a bit not for conservative people...) Alrighty! On with the Batch Fic!  
  
  
  
The Missing parts are in the text file... Part one is for the first missing part, Two is for second missing part  
  
  
  
WOHOOOO MAVERICK PAROMIN!!!! ALL RIGHT!!! NAGING X NA AKO TAPOS ZERO MAVERICK STYLE!!!  
  
  
  
And bojit began with :  
  
  
  
.....   
  
the evil demoness` tails twitched irritably. these mortal channels were so stupid! if only she could take a direct hand in the destruction of those pesky students...   
  
no. she had to keep in mind the bigger picture. this was more than the destruction of the finest PSHS has ever (and will ever) produce. their doom was merely a perk.   
  
she seethed in anger. she was losing her anthromorphogenetic control. if she didn`t hold it in, her true form would be unleashed.   
  
she didn`t dare think how that would destroy her plans. no, better save it for later.   
  
`well, well, well paromin. you may have your powers now...enjoy that fantasy while it lasts. have fun with your powers...`   
  
red and gold eyes flashed.   
  
`because those will soon be mine!`   
  
`my queen?`   
  
it was a nasally voice. it did not show the vapid fear of her lackeys. this was another of mortal tools.   
  
`alam mo, alam na alam ko si Aro e. favorite ko yan e.`   
  
the demonness turned her gaze on the squat form behind her. rashly, this one had shed her humanity, eagerly welcoming her ogre form. strangely enough, there hadn`t been much change, especially because of its horrid features.   
  
`what are you doing here?` she hissed. `you`re supposed to be prawling the spawning pool!`   
  
`the gym?` the ogre waved a pudgy hand away. `ha. no one will ever get to it.`   
  
`just go there. you are dismissed!`   
  
`as you wish.` the ogre bowed low, and waddled away.   
  
`and while you`re at it.` she added as an afterthought. `destroy paro.`   
  
.....  
  
  
  
Ok and Doval with  
  
  
  
Missing Part  
  
  
  
Fritz surveyed the scene...   
  
they were all dead...by his hand.   
  
all his friends. they died. each of them. Tactay. harold. jaycris, morales...   
  
a flashbang and AK fire was more effective than he thought.   
  
he sat down. he winced. he felt his eyes wetten...   
  
he looked up with a start. the bodies lacked somebody...the lacked a "Meryl"...   
  
someone was still alive: Kiel.   
  
his 'best friend', the serpent of a manipulative man, kiel. Fritz knew so much about him. his loves, his passions, his hobbies, his lusts...   
  
but he would have given it all for one piece of information: His position.   
  
THe sniper only smiled with glee.   
  
Kiel pulled the trigger.   
  
Fritz felt it hit his shoulder...   
  
the world seemed suddenly so much darker...   
  
so...   
  
so...   
  
cold...  
  
********   
  
He fell, into what seemed as an endless chasm. There was only darkness. The world was unmade before him. He now danced in the emptiness of empty space and the non-existence of existing.   
  
And a bright light told his heart God saved him...but his mind was wary. God only watches, never interferes, lest He take away the dignity of being human from you by relieving free will.   
  
But the light, a flash that pops out of nowhere, taught James a different story, as his tale took a different crossroad detour into the path of another familiar friend...   
  
"James ikaw ba yan?"   
  
His eyes were cold, closed. It was freezing there. He opened his eyes. All around him was white, and crystalline glass.   
  
"Hey, get up. Geez, nangyari sa 'yo?"   
  
It was Raph.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
Missing Part  
  
  
  
Somewhere in the suburbs of Diliman, Albert was lying on his bed. His back to the world, he stared straight into the wall which his bed was placed against. Inside the room were Luis and IC, two very good friends and classmates of his. They were doing one more overnight for old time's sake. Too bad Raph and Gerald couldn't make it...they seemed to be nowhere in sight and they didn't reply to any text Over the past few. Snobs.   
  
Albert's visitors gave up on trying to cheer him up. But the disappointment wasn't about the missing people, but rather it was about another fight with "Dearest" Yani. As always, whenever they fought, it would always be Albert walking up to her in humility, even if the conflict was her fault. Albert was just about fed up with the whole routine. Then he remebered one of the famous lines in the Truth Teleplay for Pinoy:   
  
"Ang pag-ibig ay kailangan nang pagmamalasakit...".   
  
Stupid Raph. Why wasn't he here? Raph was notorious for quoting that line, and it never worked when he thought about it; it was better if Raph was the one who said it.   
  
Anyway, Luis and IC contented themselves with toying with Albert's PC. Then IC put out a CD from his bag...a CD full of Hacker software...   
  
It seemed IC had an agenda that day, for the CD was new. He installed something that read "Bank Account" and the rest in Italian, but Luis, broad reader he is, looked into the little Latin his memory could summon and guessed closely it was meant to break into bank accounts. It had a flaw, however. It stole from random accounts around the world, yet you wouldn't know who it came from until the theft was complete.   
  
Albert looked up. He watched, almost sleepily.   
  
"Uh...tama ba to?" Luis asked.   
  
"Bahala kayo, basta wag kayong makita ng magulang ko. Kundi hindi na kayo babalik dito muli," was Albert's reply.   
  
"Shhh... malapit na." IC was playing appegios on the keyboard. A "Ting" confirmed success. IC then went to to create a 'fakeTEMP' bank account. He then proceeded to have the money delivered to the house.   
  
"Gago!" Albert protested. But by then, he heard the doorbell. Too late. [But he was impressed how that Swiss bank quickly replied to changes and delivered there.] He hoisted the attache cases upstairs...   
  
...all 20 of them. Each one contained stacks and stacks of US Dollar bills. Albert quickly ran to his brother's room and swiped the UV bulb hidded in one of the closets there. He illuminated them, and compared the images to those on the website Luis opened for reference.   
  
Yep. All original.   
  
They looked at the parent account. There were three names he recognized right away:   
  
Marcos, F. , Estrada, J. , Gates, W.   
  
"Alam kaya nila 'to?" IC asked stupidly.   
  
They heard a Ford Expedition and a MB100 van park in the pavement. They looked outside. There was a cop doing his night watch on a bicycle, passing by. Men dressed in shades and barong tagalogs hopped off, broke out their silenced M4A1 rifles, and went on to murder the poor guy. Then they started to knock on the door.   
  
"Uh-oh."  
  
---  
  
  
  
Introducing Maverick Mecha Paromin X!!! HAHAHA I'll drain you ALLL!!!!!!!!!!  
  
  
  
***   
  
They started to run.   
  
Paromin lowered his arm cannon and looked away in disgust. The rest had run away, scared of him yet that didn't change the fact that the whole road was littered with the corpses of the homeless in Agham Road. Bright red blood gave the street an erie glow under the light of the moon. The mechanoid sighed, he had expected a test to his abilities. Yet, he had just brought out not his abilties but a monster. A black beast who had just slaughtered people without feeling a single bit of remorse. Paromin laughed, it was... oh so... "Whimsical" The word came out like a hiss of a serpent. "So this!" He cried out while spreading his arms as if to embrace the whole gory scene "Is the price of power!!". He lifted one of the corpses by the arm and rammed his fist into it "Wake up!" He punched the lifeless body gain "WAKE UP DAMMNIT!!!". He started shaking the corpse as if the act would bring life into it.   
  
LIFE READINGS ARE REPORTING NO SIGNS OF...   
  
"SHUT UP!!!" He didn't want to listen to the reports of his electronic brain, he didn't want anything else to do with it.   
  
LIFE. PULSE IS ZERO. BREATHING RATE IS ZERO.   
  
"JUST SHUT UP WILL YOU!!!" Dispair and anger rose up within him. This wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want to become a cold blooded murderer. He stared again at the dead body he was holding. It's eyes held an empty, accusing stare. "STOP LOOKING AT ME!!!" He turned his gaze away but another dead body stared up at him. Everywhere he looked all he could see was guilt looking back at him. "I SAID STOP LOOKING AT ME!!!" Paromin screamed and brought up arm cannon and shot it. The corpse he had been holding slumped down. He looked down. It had no head. He had blown it off in desperation. He looked at his hands and saw they were stained in blood. He cried and ran to a nearby pool of water to wash it all of. He just wanted to be rid of it, of everything. It didn't come off, he looked down. It was a pool of blood. Paromin slowly looked into it. An image of a beast reflected on the dark mirror. The beast turned towards him and smiled, and for some reason... Paromin found it amusing.   
  
***   
  
A shadowy figure watched from the rooftops of the [name of hospital]. It sighed, you can never rely on squatters to do anything right. He dropped down on the blood stained street and approached one of the corpses. It was holding a shiny orb in it's hands. "Guess you won't be needing that..." He lifted the globe and kicked the corpse "... you Fool"   
  
Laughter echoed from the darkness. "Don't despoil the dead."   
  
The ninja turned around "What? Who are you?" He peered into the night, searching for the source of this mysterious observer. Nothing. Impossible! He thought. How could someone hide from him?   
  
The darkness laughed again "But who am I to say that?" It sniggered "When it was I who sent them to their deaths!"   
  
I? His eyes widened in revalation, that would mean his hidden companion was... "Paro--"   
  
"It seems you know me." A figure in red armor stepped out of the darkness. "Ah that's good!" It smiled. "That means introductions are no longer necessary then. Unless it comes from you." He looked at the glimmering orb in the ninja's hands. Then averted his gaze to the dead body that once held possession of it. "Or maybe introductions are not required at all. I'd hazard a guess that maybe these bodies I conveniently killed are here because of you?" The figure in red clenched his fists. "It's because of you that I'm a murderer..." He kneeled down beside the dead body and held it's hand, giving it comfort that it will never feel. "Because of you, I made all his dreams and hopes disappear."   
  
"Me?" Was this Paromin? "Because of me?" Wasn't he a cyborg in blue armor. This person in red fit the description... except the armor was red. No matter, the ninja thought. He saw his chance. "I do not know what you are talking about..."   
  
"DON'T LIE TO ME!!!" The Red Paromin stood up and screamed. "YOU MADE ME KILL THEM!!!"   
  
He smiled. "I do not know what you are talking about" He saw Paromin's eyes flare. He held a hand up. "But, I can make it all go away!" The armored figure continued to look at him. Yet the anger slowly faded away. "I can take away the murderer" He pushed on. "I can make everything alright again."   
  
"Can you really?"   
  
"Yes!" He displayed the orb in his hands "This could make the bad monster go away Paromin!"   
  
"Bad monster?" Paromin looked at himself. "I'm a... bad... monster?"   
  
"Yes!" The mechanoid's gaze fell on him again "I mean... no! No! Not you!" He pointed to the red armor "That's the monster that made you do all these bad things!" Almost... he almost lost it. No matter... he was playing with a full hand again. "Here! Take it... all you need to do is to think your power into it!" He pushed the orb into Paromin's blood stained hands.   
  
"This orb." Paromin fingered the shimmering object. "It collects powers doesn't it?" He looked up at the Ninja again.   
  
"Yes! Now if you just use it your power will disappear and you will be normal Paromin again!" It was so close, he could feel the taste of victory in his mouth.   
  
Paromin looked down on the orb with a blissful expression on his features, as if entranced by the moving colors "Yes... yes... this orb drains powers..." He eclipsed it in both hands "It will take away all my bad powers" He looked up again and smiled "But... I'LL KEEP MY POWERS FOR THE TIME BEING!!!" The mechanoid laughed and shoved the orb at the ninja with both hands.   
  
"What?!?" What was happening, he saw the mechanoid charge at him with the orb and felt it touch him. He suddenly felt weaker and weaker. Why was HIS powers being drained and not... he was so weary... he just wanted to sleep... and the insane laughter of Paromin was his lullaby.   
  
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!" Paromin screamed with delight as new energy flowed into him. "POWER IS SO REFRESHING!!!" He held the orb up and caressed it "I think I'll keep you for a while my friend! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!" He looked down now at the form which lay collapsed in front of him. Drained of all energy, lifeless... no... perhaps... not the right term. He grabbed the mask covering it's face. Sir [Insert name here. Sino yung first teacher you want gone?]. Paromin pondered this revelation. All facts pointed to one source. Torres. That bitch wanted to drain his powers no doubt. But he couldn't feel angry with her, he had tasted power and could find no wrong in giving in with your hunger, especially after such a delectable dish. It was time to go back. To Pisay, where it had all started. It's buildings stood against the dark night, emanating a foreboding aura. Just the way he liked it. But first a little present for the bitch who started all this. He turned his gaze at the four girls who had stood frozen in fear, watching the whole scene in detached interest. "Ah yes, just look who we have standing right here! Wouldn't a certain like to have her clutches around you four..." Paromin's insane laughter rang again.   
  
***   
  
  
  
- 6 _ 6  
  
  
  
"POWER IS SO REFRESHING!!!!!!" - Maverick Paromin  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
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The Pepper Diaries  
  
"Success is not necessary. Heroism is enough"  
  
Day 1.  
  
My name is pepper relos. i'm writing this journal for much has changed. i am  
  
currently writing this to help me forget my suffering. Well, at least in  
  
spirit.  
  
Dreams have plagued me, me returning to the Philippines [my homeland], and  
  
here i awake, back in Minnesota. I awoke to find a swarm of people in black  
  
at my home, some people who looked in mourning, some looking like government  
  
people. They carried flowers, tears, and a letter...  
  
I opened it. To my disbelief, a team of eco-terrorists took my parents and  
  
little sister, Misty, captive. They sought me, the one direct family left  
  
for an answer to the demands, but before they got to me, it was too late...  
  
they were dead.  
  
since, I have been adopted by a rather wealthy buisness partner of my  
  
father's...by a certain Mrs. Hayashi. She lives here in upstate New York  
  
with her five daughters, all biologically hers, with her after a divorce  
  
with her Japanese ex-husband. Her home was a 45-minute drive from the home  
  
of my hero, The Rock, so i was rather excited. also rather nervous. i  
  
terribly miss my family. living here may help me, but its not the same.  
  
Today, my first day here in the house, I have walked and met everyone there.  
  
There's Mrs. Hayashi, her five daughters [Aya, Reika, Shizune, Miyuki and  
  
Yuko] and the house maid. They're my new sisters here and they're very  
  
sympathetic...i'm glad.  
  
Day 2.  
  
I admit i find my new foster-sisters very attractive. THey each seem to  
  
smile or say a comment about me. One said she was impressed i was from PSHS,  
  
saying she wished she had a smart man by her side... [Apparently my school's  
  
reputation is more far-reaching than i thought.] Then Aya, the athletic one,  
  
seemed to like my physique... I seem to find the shy second-eldest one,  
  
Shizune, rather fun to talk to, and she's my "Fast friend" here...she said  
  
he loved a man with a good sense of humor... All very flattering, but i just  
  
take them all in stride. they all seem to be so nice. but that's not what's  
  
bothering me...  
  
it's the maid.  
  
she...bears a strong, striking resemblence to a girl i met back in High  
  
school during my Junior year, two years younger... but really pretty...tall,  
  
fair skin, short hair that is not thick but dark and flows gracefully, brown  
  
eyes that inspire you, a very sweet voice you'd never tire listening to,  
  
never wear out talking with...  
  
yep. like her all right. but no. i love that girl.  
  
And this...? she's a maid of the house...  
  
but i'm still freaked... she's so... i dunno... thoughtful. and very kind. I  
  
confided with her first, naturally since she seems to be my personal  
  
assistant. I told her my sorrows, pains, deeper secretes and interests.  
  
True, we don't agree on everything, but she's supportive of what i like. She  
  
even let me cry on her shoulder when i broke down talking about my family...  
  
she's a dear friend to me...  
  
but maybe it's part of her job. maybe she's really told to serve my  
  
breakfast in bed or help clean up after me, or model for me when i need  
  
something to sketch, or draw my showers, or...  
  
uh... i'll stop now.  
  
Day 3.  
  
Today... God. today i think i'm traumatized.  
  
The house maid told me to look for Aya... I knew not why, but i decided to  
  
help. now, everyone knows its bad to pry into someone's room, but i was  
  
looking... i knocked, but nobody answered. THen i heard people coming in! i  
  
hid behind the pile of laundry [she's a disorganized one], and watched. TRue  
  
enough, i heard Aya talk to her youngest sister, Miyuki. i couldn't see  
  
them, but when they stopped, i figured it to be my cue to bolt for the door.  
  
then i looked... I saw them....  
  
oh God.  
  
i couldn't help myself but stare. its a very disturbing sight, incest,  
  
homosexual at that...  
  
but my eyes... oh... i couldn't help but give in to that demon inside, a  
  
demon that whispers love poetry into your heart to tempt you for sex... I  
  
don't know...THey seemed to love it... I seemed to love watching... i  
  
couldn't move from my place beside the door...  
  
then they noticed me. I froze.  
  
Yet they kept going at it... crying out in ecstacy...  
  
"Big brother, do you want to play?"  
  
I fled. I hid in my room. I wondered what was going on... I decided to ask  
  
the eldest sister, Reika. Surely she knew something...  
  
"Ah! Pepper! please, [the maid] is tied up and busy. I need you to do  
  
something i usually ask her help for." I agreed. She asked me to massage her  
  
feet. I agreed.  
  
THen she started to strip her clothes. She sat down, and asked me to go on  
  
and give the massage, explaining it helped her relax.  
  
I backed away, without saying a word... without...taking...my...eyes off...  
  
I caught my breath outside. I ran, left the second floor and walked one  
  
floor higher. I flattened my back against the door of Shizune, the second  
  
eldest. Then, i heard a *zing* that told my mind someone broke  
  
something...something glass.  
  
I ran down and saw the maid. She was crying. She dropped a glass, and a  
  
rather expensive one, the kind that comes in very rare sets. Of course she  
  
didn't take it sitting down. She proceeded to punch her and then dragged her  
  
to the room...naked. Inside, i heard a lashing of a whip... and a girl's  
  
voice...her sweet voice... cry out in pain.  
  
I couldn't help myself. I watched from a crack at the door. Indeed, she was  
  
all tied up to a post, standing, being lashed like that. My mind spun. Her  
  
voice, a soft blanket to cover my insecurities and wistfulness at the loss  
  
of my family, now a sledgehammer that cracked my thinking...and her  
  
shrieks... they almost sounded like cries of...pleasure.  
  
I wanted to cry. I wanted to yell "Stop it!". I wasn't a man who loved  
  
seeing this... all in one day. I started to hate that woman...hate her and  
  
her family.  
  
but then...they were the ones who saved me... and i owe my life to them.  
  
All my life i was raised to a very strong lesson: at home, the family is  
  
always right. No matter what. Even if it's one of affinity, and not of  
  
blood.  
  
but this?  
  
There was a crunching sound... I looked in...Mrs. Hayami was chewing at  
  
something...  
  
Glass.  
  
She chewed them into sharp, little shards...placed in her tounge, licked her  
  
hands as though she were some big cat. Blood seemed to giggle and laugh out  
  
loud from her touge and skin. She shoed the maid the glass on her tounge...  
  
and swallowed. I nearly vomited at that sight.  
  
She chewed again, placing more sharp pieces at her tounge. "Mother" knelt  
  
down facing the maid, on her knees crawling...the maid saw and started to  
  
scream...  
  
I knew what was next. I turned away.  
  
then i swore i heard a voice... a voice inside me.  
  
"You enjoy it don't you?!?!"  
  
NO!!! NO!  
  
but deep down... i confess... selfishly i know...  
  
Oh! what's become of me!  
  
am i no less than them...  
  
no. I am more than that. I vow to discover what's going on. WHy they're the  
  
freaks they are.  
  
What's really going on..  
  
I only pray my sanity holds...  
  
and so does my resistance...  
  
for yes..  
  
the temptation...  
  
is great.  
  
so great.  
  
yes...  
  
The Pepper Diaries Part Two  
  
Day 4.  
  
I woke up to a different feeling: refreshed. I felt my body ease out in ways  
  
it never did.  
  
Then I woke up for real.  
  
Then, I realized I wasn't alone...not alone in the house, not alone in the  
  
room.  
  
Not alone in the bed.  
  
It was the maid...and I realized I was lying in a prone position, with  
  
nothing to cover my body except for my bedsheets conveniently lain on top of  
  
me. She was massaging me. She was good. It felt fantastic. I really wanted  
  
her to know that, but...I didn't know what to say.  
  
"Pepper?" she asked, breaking the silence. I nodded, and she continued.  
  
"Did...did you...?"  
  
"Did I what?" I asked meeky.  
  
"You...saw me there... didn't you...? She...Mrs. Hayami...she said someone  
  
was watching...what we were doing.... Were you, Pepper?"  
  
I knew not what to say to a young lady, especially one with whom I felt a  
  
strange, inexplicable bond of trust.  
  
"Y-yes..." I muttered softly, admitting the truth. "I...I'm sorry...I had no  
  
idea she..."  
  
"It's ok... I don't need you to really understand..." she cut in. As she  
  
said this, I turned to my right as I lay on the bed. She seemed so calm, as  
  
if she was alright with what happened. I moved my right hand and touched her  
  
legs, and true enough, there, beneath her skirt, I felt her skin rivet above  
  
her knees...marks and lines left behind from Mrs. Hayami's cruelty. My hand  
  
flinched.  
  
Then I felt hers take that hand, and she rubbed it slowly up and down, the  
  
scars beneath her skirt. I couldn't see what was happening. I know she  
  
stopped the massage...no, not really. I still felt her hands on me...  
  
But they were moving lower...lower down my back. And my hand seemed to inch  
  
lower, until...[although I didn't see, but I'm aware] it was inside her  
  
skirt, moving higher, ever slowly...  
  
"No, no, no, no. I'm sorry." I said, quickly picking myself up off the bed,  
  
retracting my hand. I shook my head and said "I can't do this. Please...I'm  
  
sorry."  
  
She closed her eyes slowly and smiled. "Ok... But please, it's my job while  
  
I'm under Mrs. Hayami..."  
  
"You don't have to do anything she asks. I'll make sure of that."  
  
"No, no... I'm supposed to make sure you're ok...that you're happy... no  
  
matter what."  
  
She still kept her eyes closed. Her face seemed to...redden??  
  
Then it hit me...what was I wearing?  
  
"Uh...Oops." I scooped up my shorts from the floor and a shirt from the bed,  
  
dressing up. I looked at her again... 'Wow...so pretty...' I thought to  
  
myself. 'Pretty enough to...'  
  
"Pepper? Is something wrong?" She must've noticed me staring.  
  
"Uh... nothing... Hey! Why was I undressed?" I asked her, reversing the  
  
situation to avoid further shame.  
  
"Oh, it's just part of the routine I'm...requested to do. And I...sort of  
  
want to do it too..." her voice trailing of at the end. 'I could agree to  
  
that' my mind went... and I was disgusted at the animal I was becoming.  
  
I was irritable. I looked at her, and told her sternly: "If you want to make  
  
me happy, stay away."  
  
"Yes Pepper."  
  
"Now please leave."  
  
She walked away sulkily. I didn't want to sound mean, but if I were to find  
  
out what's going on, I needed time alone. I also needed to be free of  
  
distractions like that. I vowed that as long as I am underneath the Hayami  
  
roof, I had to refrain from sex at all forms...  
  
Even if the temptation kills me...  
  
I watched her walk away, sadness inside me. I heard her mumbling something,  
  
in a whisper as sad as my feelings at the time...  
  
"...just so you'll be happy, Pepper... even if it means losing you..." 


End file.
